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Molecular and Cellular Biology, January 2001, p. 663-677, Vol. 21, No. 2
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology,
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030
Received 30 August 2000/Returned for modification 13 October
2000/Accepted 26 October 2000
The dynamic embryonic expression of germ cell nuclear factor
(GCNF), an orphan nuclear receptor, suggests that it may play an
important role during early development. To determine the physiological role of GCNF, we have generated a targeted mutation of the
GCNF gene in mice. Germ line mutation of the
GCNF gene proves that the orphan nuclear receptor is
essential for embryonic survival and normal development.
GCNF
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.2.663-677.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Loss of Orphan Receptor Germ Cell Nuclear Factor Function Results
in Ectopic Development of the Tail Bud and a Novel Posterior
Truncation
/
embryos cannot survive beyond 10.5 days
postcoitum (dpc), probably due to cardiovascular failure. Prior to
death, GCNF
/
embryos suffer significant defects in
posterior development. Unlike GCNF+/+ embryos,
GCNF
/
embryos do not turn and remain in a lordotic
position, the majority of the neural tube remains open, and the hindgut
fails to close. GCNF
/
embryos also suffer serious
defects in trunk development, specifically in somitogenesis, which
terminates by 8.75 dpc. The maximum number of somites in
GCNF
/
embryos is 13 instead of 25 as in the
GCNF+/+ embryos. Interestingly, the tailbud of
GCNF
/
embryos develops ectopically outside the yolk
sac. Indeed, alterations in expression of multiple marker genes were
identified in the posterior of GCNF
/
embryos, including
the primitive streak, the node, and the presomitic mesoderm. These
results suggest that GCNF is required for maintenance of somitogenesis
and posterior development and is essential for embryonic survival.
These results suggest that GCNF regulates a novel and critical
developmental pathway involved in normal anteroposterior development.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030. Phone: (713) 798-6250. Fax: (713) 790-1275. E-mail: acooney{at}bcm.tmc.edu.
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