Tomokazu Amano

LPA3-mediated lysophosphatidic acid signalling in embryo implantation and spacing

Every successful pregnancy requires proper embryo implantation. Low implantation rate is a major problem during infertility treatments using assisted reproductive technologies. Here we report a newly discovered molecular influence on implantation through the lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor LPA3 (refs 2–4). Targeted deletion of LPA3 in mice resulted in significantly reduced litter size, which could be attributed to delayed implantation and altered embryo spacing. These two events led to delayed embryonic development, hypertrophic placentas shared by multiple embryos and embryonic death. An enzyme demonstrated to influence implantation, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) (ref. 5), was downregulated in LPA3-deficient uteri during pre-implantation. Downregulation of COX2 led to reduced levels of prostaglandins E2 and I2 (PGE2 and PGI2), which are critical for implantation. Exogenous administration of PGE2 or carbaprostacyclin (a stable analogue of PGI2) into LPA3-deficient female mice rescued delayed implantation but did not rescue defects in embryo spacing. These data identify LPA3 receptor-mediated signalling as having an influence on implantation, and further indicate linkage between LPA signalling and prostaglandin biosynthesis.

Multiple renal cysts, urinary concentration defects, and pulmonary emphysematous changes in mice lacking TAZ

TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif), also called WWTR1 (WW domain containing transcription regulator 1), is a 14-3-3-binding molecule homologous to Yes-associated protein. TAZ acts as a coactivator for several transcription factors as well as a modulator of membrane-associated PDZ domain-containing proteins, but its (patho)physiological roles remain unknown. Here we show that gene inactivation of TAZ in mice resulted in pathological changes in the kidney and lung that resemble the common human diseases polycystic kidney disease and pulmonary emphysema. Taz-null/lacZ knockin mutant homozygotes demonstrated renal cyst formation as early as embryonic day 15.5 with dilatation of Bowmans capsules and proximal tubules, followed by pelvic dilatation and hydronephrosis. After birth, only one-fifth of TAZ-deficient homozygotes grew to adulthood and demonstrated multicystic kidneys with severe urinary concentrating defects and polyuria. Furthermore, adult TAZ-deficient homozygotes exhibited diffuse emphysematous changes in the lung. Thus TAZ is essential for developmental mechanisms involved in kidney and lung organogenesis, whose disturbance may lead to the pathogenesis of common human diseases.

Dnm3os, a non‐coding RNA, is required for normal growth and skeletal development in mice

Dnm3os, a gene that is transcribed into a non‐coding RNA (ncRNA), contains three micro RNAs (miRNAs), miR‐199a, miR‐199a*, and miR‐214, whose functions remain unknown in mammals. In this study, we introduced the lacZ gene into the Dnm3os locus to recapitulate its expression pattern and disrupt its function. Dnm3os+/lacZ heterozygous embryos showed β‐galactosidase activity, which reflected the authentic expression pattern of Dnm3os RNA. Most of the Dnm3oslacZ/lacZ homozygous pups died within one month of birth. After birth, Dnm3oslacZ/lacZ mice exhibited several skeletal abnormalities, including craniofacial hypoplasia, defects in dorsal neural arches and spinous processes of the vertebrae, and osteopenia. Importantly, the expression of miR‐199a, miR‐199a*, and miR‐214 was significantly down‐regulated in Dnm3oslacZ/lacZ embryos, supporting the assumption that Dnm3os serves as a precursor of these three miRNAs. Thus, Dnm3os has emerged as an miRNA‐encoding gene that is indispensable for normal skeletal development and body growth in mammals. Developmental Dynamics 237:3738–3748, 2008.

Sirt3 protects in vitro–fertilized mouse preimplantation embryos against oxidative stress–induced p53-mediated developmental arrest

Sirtuins are a phylogenetically conserved NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase/ADP-ribosyltransferase family implicated in diverse biological processes. Several family members localize to mitochondria, the function of which is thought to determine the developmental potential of preimplantation embryos. We have therefore characterized the role of sirtuins in mouse preimplantation development under in vitro culture conditions. All sirtuin members were expressed in eggs, and their expression gradually decreased until the blastocyst stage. Treatment with sirtuin inhibitors resulted in increased intracellular ROS levels and decreased blastocyst formation. These effects were recapitulated by siRNA-induced knockdown of Sirt3, which is involved in mitochondrial energy metabolism, and in Sirt3-/- embryos. The antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine and low-oxygen conditions rescued these adverse effects. When Sirt3-knockdown embryos were transferred to pseudopregnant mice after long-term culture, implantation and fetal growth rates were decreased, indicating that Sirt3-knockdown embryos were sensitive to in vitro conditions and that the effect was long lasting. Further experiments revealed that maternally derived Sirt3 was critical. Sirt3 inactivation increased mitochondrial ROS production, leading to p53 upregulation and changes in downstream gene expression. The inactivation of p53 improved the developmental outcome of Sirt3-knockdown embryos, indicating that the ROS-p53 pathway was responsible for the developmental defects. These results indicate that Sirt3 plays a protective role in preimplantation embryos against stress conditions during in vitro fertilization and culture.

Embryo Spacing and Implantation Timing Are Differentially Regulated by LPA3-Mediated Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling in Mice

Abstract In polytocous animals, blastocysts are evenly distributed along each uterine horn and implant. The molecular mechanisms underlying these precise events remain elusive. We recently showed that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) has critical roles in the establishment of early pregnancy by affecting embryo spacing and subsequent implantation through its receptor, LPA3. Targeted deletion of Lpa3 in mice resulted in delayed implantation and embryo crowding, which is associated with a dramatic decrease in the prostaglandins and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 expression levels. Exogenous administration of prostaglandins rescued the delayed implantation but did not rescue the defects in embryo spacing, suggesting the role of prostaglandins in implantation downstream of LPA3 signaling. In the present study, to know how LPA3 signaling regulates the embryo spacing, we determined the time course distribution of blastocysts during the preimplantation period. In wild-type (WT) uteri, blastocysts were distributed evenly along the uterine horns at Embryonic Day 3.8 (E3.8), whereas in the Lpa3-deficient uteri, they were clustered in the vicinity of the cervix, suggesting that the mislocalization and resulting crowding of the embryos are the cause of the delayed implantation. However, embryos transferred singly into E2.5 pseudopregnant Lpa3-deficient uterine horns still showed delayed implantation but on-time implantation in WT uteri, indicating that embryo spacing and implantation timing are two segregated events. We also found that an LPA3-specific agonist induced rapid uterine contraction in WT mice but not in Lpa3-deficient mice. Because the uterine contraction is critical for embryo spacing, our results suggest that LPA3 signaling controls embryo spacing via uterine contraction around E3.5.

Recombinase-mediated cassette exchange reveals the selective use of Gq/G11-dependent and -independent endothelin 1/endothelin type A receptor signaling in pharyngeal arch development.

The endothelin (Edn) system comprises three ligands (Edn1, Edn2 and Edn3) and their G-protein-coupled type A (Ednra) and type B (Ednrb) receptors. During embryogenesis, the Edn1/Ednra signaling is thought to regulate the dorsoventral axis patterning of pharyngeal arches via Dlx5/Dlx6 upregulation. To further clarify the underlying mechanism, we have established mice in which gene cassettes can be efficiently knocked-in into the Ednra locus using recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) based on the Cre-lox system. The first homologous recombination introducing mutant lox-flanked Neo resulted in homeotic transformation of the lower jaw to an upper jaw, as expected. Subsequent RMCE-mediated knock-in of lacZ targeted its expression to the cranial/cardiac neural crest derivatives as well as in mesoderm-derived head mesenchyme. Knock-in of Ednra cDNA resulted in a complete rescue of craniofacial defects of Ednra-null mutants. By contrast, Ednrb cDNA could not rescue them except for the most distal pharyngeal structures. At early stages, the expression of Dlx5, Dlx6 and their downstream genes was downregulated and apoptotic cells distributed distally in the mandible of Ednrb-knock-in embryos. These results, together with similarity in craniofacial defects between Ednrb-knock-in mice and neural-crest-specific Gαq/Gα11-deficient mice, indicate that the dorsoventral axis patterning of pharyngeal arches is regulated by the Ednra-selective, Gq/G11-dependent signaling, while the formation of the distal pharyngeal region is under the control of a Gq/G11-independent signaling, which can be substituted by Ednrb. This RMCE-mediated knock-in system can serve as a useful tool for studies on gene functions in craniofacial development.

Calpain-6 Deficiency Promotes Skeletal Muscle Development and Regeneration

Calpains are Ca2+-dependent modulator Cys proteases that have a variety of functions in almost all eukaryotes. There are more than 10 well-conserved mammalian calpains, among which eutherian calpain-6 (CAPN6) is unique in that it has amino acid substitutions at the active-site Cys residue (to Lys in humans), strongly suggesting a loss of proteolytic activity. CAPN6 is expressed predominantly in embryonic muscles, placenta, and several cultured cell lines. We previously reported that CAPN6 is involved in regulating microtubule dynamics and actin reorganization in cultured cells. The physiological functions of CAPN6, however, are still unclear. Here, to elucidate CAPN6s in vivo roles, we generated Capn6-deficient mice, in which a lacZ expression cassette was integrated into the Capn6 gene. These Capn6-deficient mouse embryos expressed lacZ predominantly in skeletal muscles, as well as in cartilage and the heart. Histological and biochemical analyses showed that the CAPN6 deficiency promoted the development of embryonic skeletal muscle. In primary cultured skeletal muscle cells that were induced to differentiate into myotubes, Capn6 expression was detected in skeletal myocytes, and Capn6-deficient cultures showed increased differentiation. Furthermore, we found that CAPN6 was expressed in the regenerating skeletal muscles of adult mice after cardiotoxin-induced degeneration. In this experimental system, Capn6-deficient mice exhibited more advanced skeletal-muscle regeneration than heterozygotes or wild-type mice at the same time point. These results collectively showed that a loss of CAPN6 promotes skeletal muscle differentiation during both development and regeneration, suggesting a novel physiological function of CAPN6 as a suppressor of skeletal muscle differentiation.