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Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2006, p. 1445-1451, Vol. 26, No. 4
0270-7306/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MCB.26.4.1445-1451.2006

The Multifunctional RNA-Binding Protein La Is Required for Mouse Development and for the Establishment of Embryonic Stem Cells

Jung-Min Park,1 Matthew J. Kohn,1 Monique W. Bruinsma,1 Claire Vech,1 Robert V. Intine,1 Stacy Fuhrmann,1 Alex Grinberg,2 Ipsita Mukherjee,1 Paul E. Love,2 Minoru S. Ko,3 Melvin L. DePamphilis,1 and Richard J. Maraia1*

Laboratory of Molecular Growth Regulation,1 Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland,2 Laboratory of Genetics, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland3

Received 15 September 2005/ Returned for modification 31 October 2005/ Accepted 18 November 2005

The La protein is a target of autoantibodies in patients suffering from Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, and neonatal lupus. Ubiquitous in eukaryotes, La functions as a RNA-binding protein that promotes the maturation of tRNA precursors and other nascent transcripts synthesized by RNA polymerase III as well as other noncoding RNAs. La also associates with a class of mRNAs that encode ribosome subunits and precursors to snoRNAs involved in ribosome biogenesis. Thus, it was surprising that La is dispensable in the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the organisms from which it has been characterized most extensively. To determine whether La is essential in mammals and if so, at which developmental stage it is required, mice were created with a disrupted La gene, and the offspring from La+/–intercrosses were analyzed. La–/– offspring were detected at the expected frequency among blastocysts prior to implantation, whereas no nullizygotes were detected after implantation, indicating that La is required early in development. Blastocysts derived from La+/– intercrosses yielded 38 La+/+ and La+/– embryonic stem (ES) cell lines but no La–/– ES cell lines, suggesting that La contributes a critical function toward the establishment or survival of ES cells. Consistent with this, La–/– blastocyst outgrowths revealed loss of the inner cell mass (ICM). The results indicate that in contrast to the situation in yeasts, La is essential in mammals and is one of a limited number of genes required as early as the development of the ICM.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Molecular Growth Regulation, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 31 Center Drive, Bldg. 31, Rm. 2A25, Bethesda, MD 20892-2426. Phone: (301) 402-3567. Fax: (301) 480-6863. E-mail: maraiar{at}mail.nih.gov.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2006, p. 1445-1451, Vol. 26, No. 4
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MCB.26.4.1445-1451.2006




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