During organogenesis reciprocal interactions and signaling occur between the mesenchymal and epithelial compartments in addition, numerous paracrine and autocrine growth regulatory pathways such as Wnt, hedgehog, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), Notch, and transforming growth factor-β are also active. The role played by inductive mesenchyme has been established using classical embryologic methods such as tissue recombination and engraftment, which have assayed the ability of spatially defined areas of mesenchyme to control morphogenesis and organogenesis. In general, the process of organ induction begins with the formation of a specialized area of mesenchyme that acts upon adjacent epithelia to specify organ identity and subsequently dictates epithelial morphogenesis into the required form and function within the organ. The mesenchymal compartment is involved in the induction and organogenesis of various organs, including lung, limb, kidney, pancreas, prostate, and mammary gland. We propose that Scube1 encodes a novel stromal molecule that is involved in prostate development and tumorigenesis. The use of a precisely defined subset of cells and a back-comparison approach allowed us to identify rare mRNAs that could be overlooked using other approaches.

Additionally, Scube1 transcripts were expressed in prostate cancer stromal cells, and were less abundant in cancer associated fibroblasts relative to matched normal prostate fibroblasts. The expression of Scube1 in a subset of mesenchymal cells suggests a role in prostatic induction and branching morphogenesis. We identified Scube1 as enriched in inductive mesenchyme from the list of 219 transcripts also, quantitative RT-PCR and whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed Scube1 to exhibit a highly restricted expression pattern. By comparing these two SAGE libraries, we generated a list of 219 transcripts that were enriched or specific to inductive mesenchyme and that may act as mesenchymal regulators of organogenesis and tumorigenesis. SAGE libraries were constructed from prostatic inductive mesenchyme and from the complete prostatic rudiment (including inductive mesenchyme, epithelium, and smooth muscle). We used serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) to profile a key subset of prostatic mesenchyme that regulates prostate development and is enriched for growth-regulatory molecules.

The mesenchymal compartment plays a key role in organogenesis, and cells within the mesenchyme/stroma are a source of potent molecules that control epithelia during development and tumorigenesis.

Statview 5 0 software developer