ISSN:
1365-2036
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Secretin-producing enteroendocrine cells arise from a multipotential endocrine progenitor in the crypts of the small intestine. As these cells migrate up the crypt-villus axis, they produce secretin and stop dividing as they terminally differentiate and die. Transcription of the secretin gene is controlled by a complex enhancer binding to multiple transcription factors. The basic helix-loop-helix protein, BETA2, binds to an E box sequence and associates with the p300 coactivator to activate transcription of the secretin gene. Basic helix-loop-helix proteins appear to play a pivotal role in the control of cellular differentiation. BETA2 induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in addition to activating secretin gene expression. Thus BETA2 may function as a master regulatory gene to coordinate terminal differentiation of secretin cells.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2036.2000.014s1170.x
