Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF/SF) is expressed in human epithelial cells during embryonic development; Studies by in situ hybridisation and Northern blot analysis

This study reports the tissue distribution of Hepatocyte Growth Factor-Scatter Factor (HGF/SF) in human fetal tissue using Northern analysis and in situ hybridisation techniques. In tissue from fetuses of 9-17 wk gestational age, the 6 kb mRNA transcript for HGF/SF was demonstrated in many tissues but prominently in liver, intestine, gall bladder and spleen. In situ hybridisation demonstrated that HGF/SF expression was not confined to mesenchymal tissues, as suggested by previous studies but was expressed in epithelial tissues, particularly in small intestine, keratinising epithelium of tongue, skin and oesophagus. In the small intestine epithelial expression was strikingly regional, being confined to the crypt region, the site of enterocyte proliferation. Northern analysis of tissues for c-met mRNA, representing expression of the HGF/SF receptor, demonstrated receptor expression in all tissues studied except the thyroid gland.