The lung, trachea and esophagus are the major organs derived from the anterior foregut. The signaling protein Yap is critical for lung morphogenesis. Our recent studies demonstrate that Yap is also required for the development of the esophagus. Conditional deletion of Yap during early esophageal development leads to failed generation of the stratified squamous epithelium. Interestingly, our recent in vivo genetic manipulation shows that Yap deletion prior to trachea-esophageal separation leads to esophagus agenesis. The underlying molecular mechanism includes the role of Yap in driving the proliferation of esophageal progenitor cells.
Support or Funding Information
This work is partly supported by R01HL152293, R01DK117834, R01HL158840,DK100342
