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. 2014 Aug 1;124(9):3767–3780. doi: 10.1172/JCI66603

Figure 10. Proposed role of FOXA2 in a molecular model of transcommitment causing Barrett’s metaplasia.

Figure 10

(A) The components of gastroesophageal reflux, acid and bile acids, cause secretion of SHH by esophageal squamous cells. (B) SHH signals to stroma to induce expression of BMP4 by esophageal fibroblasts, which then signal back to the squamous epithelial cells to induce SOX9 expression (epithelial-mesenchymal crosstalk). SHH can also induce expression of FOXA2 in esophageal squamous epithelial cells. (C) Activation of SOX9 and FOXA2 leads to expression of genes involved in columnar and intestinal goblet cell differentiation, such as CK8 and MUC2.