Foxa1 and Foxa2 Regulate Different Sets of Target Genes in the Adult Liver.

<p>(A,B) Expression of Foxa factors in reciprocal mutant mice. Black bar, wild-type liver, white bar, Foxa1-deficient liver, and grey bar, Foxa2-deficient liver. As expected, Foxa1 mRNA is undetectable in the Foxa1 Foxa1-deficient liver, while expression of Foxa2 is not changed in absence of Foxa1 compared to control mice on both the mRNA and protein level. Similarly, expression of Foxa2 is near background levels in Foxa2-deficient livers, while expression of Foxa1 is comparable to that in wild-type littermates. (C) Venn diagrams of the number of genes that are differentially expressed (|FC|> = 1.5 and FDR = 15%) in adult livers (total, downregulated, and upregulated) of Foxa1 (pink circles) and Foxa2 mutant (yellow circles) mice. (D) Confirmation of seven microarray targets changed in expression in the Foxa1-deficient liver by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) (top panel). When the mRNA levels of the same genes were determined in the Foxa2-deficient liver (bottom panel), these targets were either not Foxa2-dependent at all or regulated in the opposite direction. Values are represented as means plus standard error. P values were determined by Student's <i>t</i> test. * p-value<0.05. (E) mRNA levels of previously identified Foxa2 targets in Foxa1 mutant mice. Values are represented as means plus standard error.