Prox1 determines hepatocyte versus cholangiocyte cell fate in liver progenitors. Mus musculus

The mammalian liver, the largest solid organ in the body, accomplishes multiple critical roles necessary to preserve homeostasis. Human liver diseases are debilitating, costly and very often result in death. Uncovering developmental mechanisms that establish the complex architecture of the liver or generate the cellular diversity of this organ is necessary to develop more adequate methods to prevent, diagnose and cure liver diseases. This study investigated the role of the homeobox gene Prox1 during mouse hepatogenesis. Overall design: We used microarrays to detail the global program of gene expression in liver samples from wildtype mice and Prox1 f/f;Foxa3Cre (conditional knockout) mice.