Differentially expressed endoderm and mesenchyme genes along the fetal ratintestine

Developmental studies have shown that morphological and functional regional ization occurring along the mammalian intestine is defined at early fetal s tages and that some aspects of this patterning are dependent on epithelial- mesenchymal cell interactions. The molecular basis of these processes are l argely unknown, In this study, a differential display approach was used to identify genes differentially expressed along the longitudinal axis in the intestinal endoderm and mesenchyme moieties of 14-day-old rat fetuses at a stage prior to morpho-functional differentiation of the gut. Fifty-eight ge nes were identified, 36 being identical or similar to known genes and 13 co rresponding to ESTs or genome sequences with unknown function. Nine cDNAs c ould not be assigned to any previously described nucleotide sequence. The s elected genes are involved in several aspects of cell physiology, including metabolic pathways, cytoskeleton organization, signal transduction, protei n biosynthesis, and regulation of gene transcription. genesis 29:55-59, 200 1. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.