[Control of bile duct and hepatic artery development by liver-specific transcription factors]

During liver development, precursor cells called hepatoblasts differentiate into hepatocytes, which synthesize, degrade and store several molecules, or into cholangiocytes which form the bile ducts. The hepatic artery brings nutrients and oxygen to the hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. The aim of my work is to study the role of the transcription factor HNF-6 during liver development. In the course of this project, I made the first description of the development of the biliary tract and of the hepatic artery in the mouse. The analysis of transgenic mice in which the HNF-6 gene had been inactivated led me to the first identification of a genetic cascade that controls biliary development, a cascade wherein HNF-6 regulates the expression of the gene encoding the transcription factor HNF-1beta. Finally, I showed that biliary anomalies can cause perturbations in the development of the hepatic artery.