Absence of connexin43 and connexin45 does not disturb pre- and peri-implantation development
2016
Nishii, Kiyomasa | Kobayashi, Yasushi | Shibata, Yosaburo
Gap junctional intercellular communication is assumed to play an important role during pre- and peri-implantation development. In this study, we eliminated connexin43 (Cx43) and connexin45 (Cx45), major gap junctional proteins in the pre- and peri-implantation embryo. We generated Cx43 ⁻/⁻ Cx45 ⁻/⁻ embryos by Cx43 ⁺/⁻ Cx45 ⁺/⁻ intercrossing, because mice deficient in Cx43 (Cx43 ⁻/⁻) exhibit perinatal lethality and those deficient in Cx45 (Cx45 ⁻/⁻) exhibit early embryonic lethality. Wild-type, Cx43 ⁻/⁻, Cx45 ⁻/⁻, and Cx43 ⁻/⁻ Cx45 ⁻/⁻ blastocysts all showed similar outgrowths in in vitro culture. Moreover, Cx43 ⁻/⁻ Cx45 ⁻/⁻ embryos were obtained at the expected Mendelian ratio up to embryonic day 9.5, when the Cx45 ⁻/⁻ mutation proved lethal. The Cx43 ⁻/⁻ Cx45 ⁻/⁻ embryos seemed to have no additional developmental abnormalities in comparison with the single knockout strains. Thus, pre- and peri-implantation development does not require Cx43 and Cx45. Other gap junctional proteins are expressed around these stages and these may compensate for the lack of Cx43 and Cx45.
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