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Updated: May 5, 2026
Protocols for Analyzing the Role of Paneth Cells in Regenerating the Murine Intestine using Conditional Cre-lox Mouse Models
Published on: November 21, 2015
SOX9 is required for the differentiation of paneth cells in the intestinal epithelium
Yuko Mori-Akiyama1, Maaike van den Born, Johan H van Es
1Department of Molecular Geneticsm, The University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Background And Aims:
The transcription factor SOX9 has been shown previously to have an essential role in the differentiation of a small number of discrete cell lineages. In the intestine, Sox9 is expressed in the epithelial cells of the crypts and is a target of Wnt signaling.
Methods:
To examine the function of SOX9 in the intestine, we inactivated the Sox9 gene in intestinal epithelial cells by generating mice that harbored a conditional Sox9 gene and a Villin-Cre transgene.
Results:
In the absence of SOX9, Paneth cells were not formed, but the differentiation of other intestinal epithelial cell types was unaffected. The lack of SOX9 also lead to crypt enlargement, to a marked increase in cell proliferation throughout the crypts, and to replacement of the Paneth cells by proliferating epithelial cells.
Conclusions:
We conclude that SOX9 is required for the differentiation of Paneth cells. Our results elucidate an essential step in the differentiation of gut epithelium.
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