epithelial cells with a particular discourse on the parietal cell

gene expression profiling gastric epithelial cells with a particular discourse on the parietal cell. Physiol Genomics 37: 67–78, 2009. First published February 10, 2009; doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.90408.2008.—The cellular composition and morphology of the stomach epithelium have been described in detail; however, the molecular mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of the various cell lineages as well as the function of mature gastric cells are far less clear. Recently, dissection of the molecular anatomy of the stomach has been boosted by the advent of functional genomics, which allows investigators to determine patterns of gene expression across virtually the entire cellular transcriptome. In this review, we discuss the impact of functional genomic studies on the understanding of gastric epithelial physiology. We show how functional genomic studies have uncovered genes that are useful as new cell lineage-specific markers of differentiation and provide new insights into cell physiology. For example, vascular endothelial growth factor B (Vegfb) has been identified as a parietal cell-specific marker that may allow parietal cells to regulate the mucosal vascular network. We also discus