PDX1 and pancreatitis: After birth, Pdx1 is progressively restricted to endocrine pancreas, while p48 expression is confined to acinar cells.36 Moreover, p48 is more specific for the pancreas than Pdx1, which is also expressed in the duodenum, antral stomach and bile duct.35 In the Atg7-p48-Cre or Atg7-Pdx1-Cre mouse models, deletion of Atg7 of pancreas is almost completed before birth, but due to different temporal and spatial expression patterns of p48 and Pdx1, the effectiveness of the Atg7 knockout may be slightly different, hence affecting the severity of pancreatitis and the probability of early death.