Premium
Developmental Changes of Cell Adhesion Molecule Expression in the Fetal Mouse Liver
Author(s) -
Sugiyama Yoshinori,
Koike Toru,
Shiojiri Nobuyoshi
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the anatomical record: advances in integrative anatomy and evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.21204
Subject(s) - cell adhesion molecule , fetus , microbiology and biotechnology , cell adhesion , soluble cell adhesion molecules , cell , biology , chemistry , pregnancy , biochemistry , genetics
Developmental changes of cell adhesion molecule expression, especially in nonparenchymal cells, have hardly ever been analyzed in the murine liver. The present study was undertaken to immunohistochemically examine the expression of NCAM, ICAM, VCAM, and N‐cadherin during mouse liver development and in fetal liver cell cultures. NCAM was transiently expressed in mesenchymal cells of the septum transversum and sinusoidal cells in liver development. In vitro studies demonstrated that desmin‐positive stellate cells expressed this cell adhesion molecule. NCAM expression in periportal biliary epithelial cells and connective tissue cells also coincided well with bile duct remodeling processes in the perinatal periods. Expression of ICAM and VCAM was transiently restricted to hepatoblasts, hepatocytes and hemopoietic cells in fetal stages. N‐cadherin was expressed not only in hepatoblasts and hepatocytes, but also in nonparenchymal cells such as endothelial cells, stellate cells and connective tissue cells, however the expression was weak. These results suggest that each cell adhesion molecule may play an important role during development in hepatic histogenesis, including hepatoblast/hepatocyte‐stellate cell interactions, hemopoiesis, and bile duct morphogenesis. Anat Rec 293:1698–1710, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.