Fibroblast growth factor 10 represses premature cell differentiation during establishment of the intestinal progenitor niche.

Spatio-temporal regulation of the balance between cell renewal and cell differentiation is of vital importance for embryonic development and adult homeostasis. Fibroblast growth factor signaling relayed from the mesenchyme to the epithelium is necessary for progenitor maintenance during organogenesis of most endoderm-derived organs, but it is still ambiguous whether the signal is exclusively mitogenic. Furthermore, the downstream mechanisms are largely unknown. In order to elucidate these questions we performed a complementary analysis of fibroblast growth factor 10 (Fgf10), gain-of-function and loss-of-function in the embryonic mouse duodenum, where the progenitor niche is clearly defined and differentiation proceeds in a spatially organized manner. In agreement with a role in progenitor maintenance, FGF10 is expressed in the duodenal mesenchyme during early development while the cognate receptor FGFR2b is expressed in the epithelial progenitor niche. Fgf10 gain-of-function in the epithelium leads to spatial expansion of the progenitor niche and repression of cell differentiation, while loss-of-function results in premature cell differentiation and subsequent epithelial hypoplasia. We conclude that FGF10 mediated mesenchymal-to-epithelial signaling maintains the progenitor niche in the embryonic duodenum primarily by repressing cell differentiation, rather than through mitogenic signaling. Furthermore, we demonstrate that FGF10-signaling targets include ETS-family transcription factors, which have previously been shown to regulate epithelial maturation and tumor progression.

FGF10 signaling controls stomach morphogenesis.

Maintenance of progenitor cell properties in development is required for proper organogenesis of most organs, including those derived from the endoderm. FGF10 has been shown to play a role in both lung and pancreatic development. Here we find that FGF10 signaling controls stomach progenitor maintenance, morphogenesis and cellular differentiation. Through a characterization of the initiation of terminal differentiation of the three major gastric regions in the mouse, forestomach, corpus and antrum, we first describe the existence of a "secondary transition" event occurring in mouse stomach between E15.5 and E16.5. This includes the formation of terminally differentiated squamous cells, parietal, chief and gastric endocrine cells from a pre-patterned gastric progenitor epithelium. Expression analysis of both FGF and Notch signaling components suggested a role of these networks in such progenitors, which was tested through ectopically expressing FGF10 in the developing posterior stomach. These data provide evidence that gastric gland specification and progenitor cell maintenance is controlled by FGF10. The glandular proliferative niche was disrupted in pPDX-FGF10(FLAG) mice leading to aberrant gland formation, and endocrine and parietal cell differentiation was attenuated. These effects were paralleled by changes in Hes1, Shh and Wnt6 expression, suggesting that FGF10 acts in concert with multiple morphogenetic signaling systems during gastric development.

FGF10 signaling maintains the pancreatic progenitor cell state revealing a novel role of Notch in organ development.

FGF10 plays an important role in the morphogenesis of several tissues by control of mesenchymal-to-epithelial signaling. In the pancreas, mesenchymal FGF10 is required to maintain the Pdx1-expressing epithelial progenitor cell population, and in the absence of FGF10 signaling, these cells fail to proliferate. Ectopic expression of FGF10 in the pancreatic epithelium caused increased proliferation of pancreatic progenitor cells and abrogation of pancreatic cell differentiation of all cell types. A hyperplastic pancreas consisting of undifferentiated cells expressing Pdx1, Nkx6.1, and cell adhesion markers normally characterizing early pancreatic progenitor cells resulted. Differentiation was attenuated even as proliferation of the pancreatic cells slowed during late gestation, suggesting that the trophic effect of FGF10 was independent of its effects upon cell differentiation. The FGF10-positive pancreatic cells expressed Notch1 and Notch2, the Notch-ligand genes Jagged1 and Jagged2, as well as the Notch target gene Hes1. This activation of Notch is distinct from the previously recognized mechanism of lateral inhibition. These data suggest that FGF10 signaling serves to integrate cell growth and terminal differentiation at the level of Notch activation, revealing a novel second role of this key signaling system during pancreatic development.