Transcriptional networks and signaling pathways that govern vertebrate intestinal development

Abstract

The vertebrate intestine is a complex and highly specialized organ comprising tissues derived from all three germ layers. While a description of the morphological events underlying the consolidation and organization of the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm-derived cells into a multi-layered, continuously renewing organ has been available for several decades, only recently has a strong genetic framework for this process started to emerge, and as yet it remains incomplete. This review highlights the roles played by a number of transcription factors and signaling pathways in the development of the vertebrate intestine from the moment the definitive endoderm is formed. These molecular pathways of..