Prediction of regulatory networks in mouse abdominal wall

Sequence specific transcription factors are essential for pattern formation and cell differentiation processes in mammals. The formation of the abdominal wall depends on a flawless merge of several developmental fields in time and space. The absence of Pitx2 leads to an open abdominal wall in mice, while mutations in humans result in umbilical defects, suggesting that a single homeobox transcription factor coordinates the formation and patterning of this anatomical structure. Gene expression analysis from abdominal tissue including the abdominal wall after removal of the major organs, of wild type, Pitx2 heterozygote and mutant mice, at embryonic day 10.5, identified 275 genes with altered expression levels. Pitx2 target genes were clustered using the “David Bioinformatics Functional Annotation Tool” web application, which bins genes according to gene ontology (GO) key word enrichment. This provided a way to both narrow the target gene list and to start identifying potential gene families regulated by Pitx2. Target genes in the most enriched bins were further analyzed for the presence and the evolutionary conservation of Pitx2 consensus binding sequence, TAATCY, on the − 20 kb, intronic and coding gene sequences. Twenty Pitx2 target genes that passed all the above criteria were classified as genes involved in cell transport and growth. Data from these studies suggest that Pitx2 acts as an inhibitor of protein transport and cell apoptosis contributing to the open body wall phenotype. This work provides the framework to which the developmental network leading to abdominal wall syndromes can be built.