Disease relevance of Foxf2

• Inactivation of both Foxf2 alleles, or one allele each of Foxf1 and Foxf2, cause a range of defects, including megacolon, colorectal muscle hypoplasia and agangliosis [1].
• Mice lacking the Foxf2 gene were found to develop cleft palate and an abnormal tongue [2].

High impact information on Foxf2

• Here, we show that targeting murine Foxf1 and Foxf2, encoding forkhead transcription factors, has pleiotropic effects on intestinal paracrine signaling [1].
• Foxf1 and Foxf2 control murine gut development by limiting mesenchymal Wnt signaling and promoting extracellular matrix production [1].
• The Foxf2 (LUN) mRNA is expressed in the mesenchyme directly adjacent to the ectoderm-derived epithelium in the developing tongue and in the mesenchyme adjacent to the endoderm-derived epithelium in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, lungs, and genitalia [2].
• To investigate the developmental role of the Foxf2 gene during embryogenesis, we disrupted the Foxf2 gene and showed that these mutant mice died shortly after birth [2].
• In addition, we found that the GI tract and the lungs of Foxf2-deficient newborn mice were normal in both morphology and function [2].

Biological context of Foxf2

• To investigate if the differences in mutant phenotype can be attributed to nonoverlapping expression patterns or if distinct functions of the encoded proteins have to be inferred, we analyzed the early embryonic expression of Foxf2 and compared it with that of the better investigated Foxf1 [3].

Anatomical context of Foxf2

• In addition, Foxf2 is also expressed in limbs and the central nervous system [3].
• Foxf2, on the other hand, is more prominent than Foxf1 in mesenchyme around the oral cavity, as would be predicted from the cleft palate phenotype [3].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Foxf2

• In this study we have used in situ hybridization to explore the expression pattern of the forkhead transcription factor gene FoxF2 (FREAC-2, LUN) during mouse and rat embryogenesis, postnatal development, and in adult tissues [4].

References