Keith Mostov - Control of length of epithelial tubes in mammals
Channel: Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS)
Date: 26/03/2018

Most internal organs consist of tubes lined by a single layer epithelial cells; these tubes usually have a  characteristic  length.  For  most  organs,  little  is  known  about  how  the  length  of  these  tubes  is 
controlled. For example, the small intestine of mammals has a defined length, though very little is known of about the mechanisms that control this length. If a portion of the small intestine is damaged due to disease or injury, either embryonically or postnatally, the length of the small intestine never regenerates. We have uncovered a portion of pathway that controls the length of the small intestine during embryonic development.