Background and Aims: A division of labor exists between different classes of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the gastrointestinal tract. In the stomach and small intestine, ICC at the level of the myenteric plexus (IC‐MY) act as slow wave pacemaker cells, whereas intramuscular ICC (IC‐IM) in the stomach act as intermediaries in enteric motor neurotransmission. The muscle layers of the gastric fundus do not have IC‐MY, therefore electric slow waves are not generated. Intramuscular ICC are absent in the gastric fundus of W/W^V mutant mice, and excitatory and inhibitory motor nerve responses are reduced in these tissues. The absence of IC‐IM in W/W^V mutants in the fundus provides a unique opportunity to study the molecular changes that are associated with the loss of these cells.

Methods: The tissue gene expression of wild‐type and W/W^V mice from gastric fundus was assayed using a murine microarray chip analysis displaying a total of 8734 elements.

Results: Twenty‐one queries were differentially expressed in wild‐type and W/W^V mice. One candidate gene, encoding a novel protein homologous to rat Shank‐interacting protein (Sharpin) was significantly upregulated in fed and starved W/W^V mice. The full‐length clone of the murine gene and its human counterpart were isolated and designated as Shank‐interacting protein‐like 1 (SIPL1). Human SIPL1 complementary DNA encodes a protein of 345 amino acids. This gene was localized to chromosome 8. SIPL1 was abundantly expressed in human stomach and small intestine, and scarcely expressed in cecum and rectum.

Conclusions: Gene analysis showed that SIPL1 differentially express in the gastric fundus of normal and W/W^V mice. The upregulation of SIPL1 in the fundus of W/W^V mice, and expression in the upper gastrointestinal tract suggest that the SIPL1 gene could be associated with ICC function in mice and humans.

© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd