Ets transcription factors in intestinal morphogenesis, homeostasis and disease
Paul Jedlicka1 and Arthur Gutierrez-Hartmann2,3
Departments of 1Pathology, 2Medicine, and 3Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora CO, USA
Offprint requests to: Paul Jedlicka, Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Center, PO Box 6511, MS 8104, Aurora CO 80045, USA. e-mail: paul.jedlicka@uchsc.edu
Summary. Ets transcription factors comprise a large family of sequence-specific regulators of gene expression with important and diverse roles in development and disease. Most Ets family members are expressed in the developing and/or mature intestine, frequently in a compartment-specific and temporally dynamic manner. However, with the exception of the highly expressed Elf3, involved in embryonic epithelial differentiation, little is known about Ets functions in intestinal development and homeostasis. Ets factors show altered expression in colon cancer, where they regulate pathways relevant to tumor progression. Ets factors also likely act as important modifiers of non-neoplastic intestinal disease by regulating pathways relevant to tissue injury and repair. Despite a large body of published work on Ets biology, much remains to be learned about the precise functions of this large and diverse gene family in intestinal morphogenesis, homeostasis, and both neoplastic and non-neoplastic pathology. Histol Histopathol 23, 1417-1424 (2008)
Key words: Ets, Transcription factor, Intestine, Morphogenesis, Homeostasis, Cancer