Transcription profiling of liver from wild type and tumor suppressor Apc knock-out mice

A "Cartes d'Identite des Tumeurs" (CIT) project from the french Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer (http://cit.ligue-cancer.net). This work aims to demonstrate a key role for the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in liver embryonic growth and in controlling the fate of hepatoblasts, preventing them to differentiate towards the hepatocyte lineage, and guiding them to a duct morphogenesis. Through the inactivation of Apc (adenomatous Polyposis Coli) tumor suppressor gene in hepatoblasts by a Cre-loxP strategy, the ectopic activation of beta-catenin targeted in hepatoblasts after liver bud formation leads to a lethal embryonic phenotype, characterized by liver hypoplasia, a blockade of hepatocyte differentiation and commitment to a biliary fate. (this work was supported by INSERM and the BLigue Nationale