AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 267, Issue 5 875-G882, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Temporal-specific and spatial-specific patterns of neurotensin gene expression in the small bowel

B. M. Evers, J. A. Ehrenfried, X. Wang, C. M. Townsend Jr and J. C. Thompson
Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555-0533.

Expression of the neurotensin/neuromedin N (NT/N) gene is developmentally regulated in a temporal- and spatial-specific pattern in the small bowel. The purpose of our study was to determine 1) whether the temporal expression of NT/N could be altered by ectopic placement of small bowel and 2) whether the spatial-specific expression of NT/N could be altered by different diets. We found that the relative temporal pattern of NT/N expression was unchanged in rat jejunal and ileal xenografts implanted into the flanks of athymic nude mice. To determine whether the spatial-specific pattern of NT/N expression could be altered by different luminal nutrients, 28-day-old rats were randomized to receive chow or chemically defined liquid diets for 60 days at which time the jejunoileum was divided into eight equal segments, and NT/N expression was analyzed. The normal pattern of increasing levels of NT/N mRNA along the jejunum-to-ileum axis was not altered by any of the liquid diets. In contrast to NT/N, we found that expression of sucrase-isomaltase varied greatly depending on both location and type of luminal nutrients. We conclude that the strict temporal- and spatial-specific pattern of NT/N expression is not affected by either location or luminal contents, thus suggesting an intrinsic program of NT/N gene expression. Furthermore, we speculate that the NT/N gene may provide a useful endocrine paradigm to investigate the factors regulating the establishment and maintenance of certain cell lineage-specific patterns along the cephalocaudal axis of the gut.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Z. Dong, X. Wang, and B. M. Evers Site-specific DNA methylation contributes to neurotensin/neuromedin N expression in colon cancers Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, December 1, 2000; 279(6): G1139 - G1147. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. Dong, X. Wang, Q. Zhao, C. M. Townsend Jr., and B. M. Evers DNA methylation contributes to expression of the human neurotensin/neuromedin N gene Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, March 1, 1998; 274(3): G535 - G543. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]