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Endothelin‐3 controls growth of colonic epithelial cells by mediating epithelial–mesenchymal interaction
Author(s) -
Fukamachi Hiroshi,
Narita Takanori,
Yahagi Naohisa,
Takeda Hiroyuki,
Ichinose Masao
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
development, growth and differentiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.864
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1440-169X
pISSN - 0012-1592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-169x.2005.00827.x
Subject(s) - paracrine signalling , biology , epithelium , mesenchymal stem cell , stomach , receptor , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , biochemistry , genetics
It has been repeatedly reported that endothelin‐3 (ET‐3) is expressed by gastrointestinal mesenchymes, and that paracrine signaling between ET‐3 and its receptor plays an essential role in controlling differentiation of the enteric nervous system in the gut, especially in the colon. However it remains to be solved whether ET‐3 plays a role in regulating the growth of gastrointestinal epithelial cells. We have previously reported culture systems for forestomach, glandular stomach and duodenal epithelial cells, but a system for colonic epithelial cells has not been established. In the present study, we examined optimal culture conditions for colonic epithelial cells, and examined whether ET‐3 affects the growth of gastrointestinal epithelial cells, with special reference to colonic cells. We found that ET‐3 dose‐dependently and region‐specifically stimulated their growth in primary culture: colonic epithelial cells were most responsive, followed by duodenal and glandular stomach epithelial cells. Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that ET‐3 and a receptor for ET‐3 were expressed by both colonic mesenchymes and epithelia, but the levels were much higher in mesenchymes than in epithelia. These results suggest that ET‐3 plays an important role in the growth control of colonic epithelial cells, possibly by mediating epithelial–mesenchymal interactions.