Cdx2 specifies the differentiation of morphological as well as functional absorptive enterocytes of the small intestine.

Many transcription factors are involved in the molecular control of intestinal epithelial cell differentiation. We report in this study that the transcription factor Cdx2 functions to define absorptive enterocytes during intestinal epithelial differentiation. Cdx2 is expressed in the villi of the normal small intestine. Intestinal metaplasia, which expresses Cdx2, occurs as a pathological condition in gastric mucosa. We have previously established Cdx2 transgenic mice expressing Cdx2 exclusively in the gastric epithelium. In this study using Cdx2 transgenic mice, we show that Cdx2 plays a key role in the differentiation of intestinal absorptive enterocytes. The gastric mucosa of Cdx2 transgenic mice was morphologically completely changed into intestinal metaplastic mucosa. Absorptive enterocytes had microvilli which were observed by electron microscope. The intestinal metaplastic mucosa of Cdx2 transgenic mice expressed sucrase and peptide transporter PepT1. Disaccharidase and leucine aminopeptidase activities were observed in the intestinal metaplastic mucosa. Glucose and amino acids were absorbed from Cdx2 transgenic mouse stomach with intestinal metaplasia. Finally we generated mice whose intestine was extensively excised. Cdx2 transgenic mice with intestinal metaplasia survived even after extensive intestinal excision. We successfully demonstrated that Cdx2 induced not only morphological but also functional absorptive enterocytes in the intestinal metaplastic mucosa in vivo. Our results suggest that Cdx2 is necessary and sufficient by itself to specify the development of intestinal absorptive enterocytes, whereas other factors which are expressed in the small intestine are not always necessary for the differentiation of functional absorptive enterocytes.