Abstract
Hox genes are regulatory genes in mice containing a highly conserved homeobox region which are thought to control embryonic and fetal development. We have previously reported that hox 2.1 mRNA levels in fetal mouse lung are maximum on day 16, decreasing thereafter. Here we report the developmental localization of hox 2.1 protein in mouse fetal lung. Mice (fetal days 14 to 18; adult) were sacrificed and lungs frozen in liquid N2, cryosectioned and incubated with hox 2.1 polyclonal antibody (courtesy of N. Wall at Vanderbilt U.) followed by alkaline phosphatase immunostaining. Staining increased with gestation, was rare in adult specimens and was not seen in the absence of primary antibody. Nuclear staining was localized to subepithelial mesenchyme on day 14 and to both subepithelial mesenchyme and adjacent epithelial cells on day 15. As gestation progressed, staining localized to terminal bronchiolar columnar epithelium, abruptly decreasing or disappearing at branch points with transition to flattened epithelium. In conclusion, the change in localizatin of hox 2.1 protein from subepithelial mesenchyme to regionally restricted epithelia suggests a role in tho determination of epithelial cell fate and differentiation. The discordance between changes in mRNA levels and protein immunostaining suggests that hox 2.1 is complexly regulated during lung development.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Volpe, M., Nielsen, H. DEVELOPMENTAL LOCALIZATION OF 2.1 PROTEIN IN MOUSE FETAL LUNG SUGGESTS A ROLE IN DETERMINATION OF CELL FATE. Pediatr Res 35, 284 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199402000-00178
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199402000-00178
This article is cited by
-
Prognostic factors in pediatric cochlear implant: an outcome-based study
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology (2023)