Dynamic signaling network for the specification of embryonic pancreas and liver progenitors

Studies of the formation of pancreas and liver progenitors have focused on individual inductive signals and cellular responses. Here, we investigated how bone morphogenetic protein, transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta), and fibroblast growth factor signaling pathways converge on the earliest genes that elicit pancreas and liver induction in mouse embryos. The inductive network was found to be dynamic; it changed within hours. Different signals functioned in parallel to induce different early genes, and two permutations of signals induced liver progenitor domains, which revealed flexibility in cell programming. Also, the specification of pancreas and liver progenitors was restricted by the TGFbeta pathway. These findings may enhance progenitor cell specification from stem cells for biomedical purposes and can help explain incomplete programming in stem cell differentiation protocols.