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Requirement of the MASH-1 transcription factor for neuroendocrine differentiation of thyroid C cells
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Requirement of the MASH-1 transcription factor for neuroendocrine differentiation of thyroid C cells

Thomas M Lanigan, Shannon K DeRaad and Andrew F Russo
Journal of neurobiology, Vol.34(2), pp.126-134
02/05/1998
DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4695(19980205)34:2<126::AID-NEU3>3.0.CO;2-4
PMID: 9468384

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Abstract

Thyroid C cells are neural crest‐derived neuroendocrine cells that can acquire features similar to serotonergic neurons. Based on developmental and phenotypic markers, we have previously proposed that C cells and serotonergic enteric neurons arise from a common sympathoadrenal progenitor. In this report, we genetically examined this relationship using mice lacking the mammalian achaete‐scute homologue 1 (MASH‐1) transcription factor, since MASH‐1 has recently been shown to be required for differentiation of serotonergic enteric neurons. We found that MASH‐1 knockout mice have a greatly reduced number of C cells based on the lack of calcitonin and serotonin immunoreactivity. In contrast, calcitonin and serotonin were still expressed in cultured mature C cells that no longer express MASH‐1, demonstrating that MASH‐1 is not directly required for the expression of these two markers. Hence, MASH‐1 is required to establish the C‐cell phenotype and supports the model that C cells lie in the neuronal differentiation pathway of the sympathoadrenal neural crest. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 34: 126–134, 1998
MASH‐1 differentiation calcitonin neural crest thyroid C cell

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