“…Developmental: primary endoderm, liver, kidney, pancreas, stomach, intestine; adult: HNF␣-1 and -2-liver (hepatocytes), kidney, small intestine and colon but not in the pancreas; HNF␣-3 and -4-liver; HNF␣-7-pancreas, adult liver, small intestine, colon, stomach but not in the liver {Hs, Mm, Rn} ͓Northern blot, in situ hybridization, Western blot, immunohistology͔ 4,[35][36][37] Functional assays Measurement of receptor activity using CAT and luciferase reporter genes in HeLa, HepG2, Hep3B, Saos2, Caco-2, and HEK 293 cells {Hs} 4,28,38 ; ectopic overexpression of HNF-4␣ in fibroblasts induces a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, indicating that HNF-4␣ is a dominant regulator of the epithelial phenotype {Mm} 39 Mutant phenotype Targeted disruption of the HNF-4␣ gene results in embryonic lethality; the embryos initiate but do not complete gastrulation in the absence of HNF-4␣ {Mm} ͓knockout͔ 48,49 ; adult mice lacking hepatic HNF-4␣ expression accumulated lipid in the liver and exhibited greatly reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and increased serum bile acid concentrations {Mm} ͓knockout͔ 39,50,51 ; mice lacking HNF-4␣ in pancreatic  cells have hyperinsulinemia and, paradoxically, impaired glucose tolerance, as well as impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and dysfunction of the K ATP channel activity {Mm} ͓conditional knockout͔ 52,53 Human disease Early-onset type 2 diabetes: due to the three SNPs (Asp 126 3Tyr, Asp 126 3His, Arg 154 3Gln) 54 ; late-onset type 2 diabetes: due to missense mutations in the LBD and F domain and 13 SNPs in the P2 promoter [55][56][57][58] ; MODY1: caused by mutations in several different human populations affecting either the DBD or LBD 32,[59][60][61][62][63] ; factor VII deficiency: caused by mutations in the HNF-4␣-binding site in the blood coagulation factor VII gene 64 ; hemophilia B Leyden: caused by mutations in the HNF-4␣-binding site in the blood coagulation factor IX gene [65][66][67] Biologically important isoforms TAk1 {Hs}; TR4a1 {Hs, Rn}: differ...…”