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Updated: May 12, 2026
08:26
A Quantitative Cell Migration Assay for Murine Enteric Neural Progenitors
Published on: September 18, 2013
Involvement of down-regulated E2F3 in Hirschsprung's disease
Weibing Tang1, Junwei Tang, Jingjing Qin
1State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Institute of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Journal of Pediatric Surgery
|April 16, 2013
Summary
This study found lower E2F3 expression in Hirschsprung
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Gastroenterology
- Molecular genetics
Background:
- Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) causes neonatal bowel obstruction due to absent nerve cells in the colon.
- Impaired neural crest cell (NCC) migration is a key factor in HSCR pathogenesis.
- E2F3's role in enteric nervous system development and HSCR is unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of E2F3 in Hirschsprung's disease.
- To determine the correlation between E2F3 expression and HSCR.
- To explore E2F3's involvement in neural crest cell migration.
Main Methods:
- Examined E2F3 expression in HSCR patients (n=58) and controls (n=39) using RT-PCR and Western blot.
- Utilized siRNA to knockdown E2F3 in 293T cell lines.
- Assessed cell migration ability using Transwell assays.
Main Results:
- Significantly lower E2F3 expression was observed in the aganglionic segments of HSCR patients compared to controls.
- Down-regulation of E2F3 suppressed cell migration in vitro.
- E2F3 expression levels correlate with HSCR severity.
Conclusions:
- This research is the first to demonstrate reduced E2F3 expression in Hirschsprung's disease.
- Down-regulated E2F3 offers new insights into the mechanisms of impaired neural crest cell migration in HSCR.
- E2F3 may be a potential therapeutic target for HSCR.
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