Dppa3 / Pgc7 / stellais a maternal factor and is not required for germ cell specification in mice

✍ Scribed by Alex Bortvin; Mary Goodheart; Michelle Liao; David C Page

• Book ID: 104492640
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 652 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1471-213X
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-213x-4-2

✦ Synopsis

Background: In mice, germ cells are specified through signalling between layers of cells comprising the primitive embryo. The function of Dppa3 (also known as Pgc7 or stella), a gene expressed in primordial germ cells at the time of their emergence in gastrulating embryos, is unknown, but a recent study has claimed that it plays a central role in germ cell specification.

Results:

To test Dppa3's role in germ cell development, we disrupted the gene in mouse embryonic stem cells and generated mutant animals. We were able to obtain viable and fertile Dppa3-deficient animals of both sexes. Examination of embryonic and adult germ cells and gonads in Dppa3-deficient animals did not reveal any defects. However, most embryos derived from Dppa3-deficient oocytes failed to develop normally beyond the four-cell stage.

Conclusion:

We found that Dppa3 is an important maternal factor in the cleavage stages of mouse embryogenesis. However, it is not required for germ cell specification.