The expression analysis of Notch-1 and Jagged-2 during the development of the hindgut in rat embryos with ethylenethiourea induced anorectal malformations.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to investigate the expression of Notch-1 and Jagged-2 in the terminal hindgut in ethylenethiourea (ETU)-exposed rat embryos with anorectal malformations (ARMs) and its potential association with the maldevelopment of the terminal hindgut in ARMs.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: ETU-exposed ARMs model was introduced to investigate the expression pattern of Notch-1 and Jagged-2 during the hindgut development using immunohistochemical staining, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis.
RESULTS: Immunostaining revealed that the expression of Notch-1 and Jagged-2 showed changes in the developing terminal hindgut of ARMs. The expression of Notch-1 and Jagged-2 in the terminal hindgut of ARMs rat embryos decreased at both mRNA level and protein level (P < 0.05) compared with normal tissues.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the expression of Notch-1 and Jagged-2 in ARMs of ETU-exposed rat embryos was remarkably reduced, which implied its potential role in the pathogenesis of the terminal hindgut maldevelopment in ARMs.