The Hippo pathway effector YAP is an essential regulator of submandibular gland ductal progenitor patterning

To investigate the roles of YAP in the submandibular gland (SMG) epithelium, we compared the gene expression profiles of E15.5 SMGs isolated from Yap-loxP/loxP or Yap-loxP/loxP;Shh-Cre (i.e. Cre recombinase from the Shh promoter) embryos. We collected RNA from E15.5 SMGs isolated from Yap-loxP/loxP and Yap-loxP/loxP;Shh-Cre litter mate mice. Embryonic SMGs from three separate timed matings were used for this experiment.