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Updated: Sep 29, 2026

Manipulation and In Vitro Maturation of Xenopus laevis Oocytes, Followed by Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, to Study Embryonic Development
Published on: February 9, 2015
Oocytes and embryos of Xenopus laevis express two different isoforms of germ cell nuclear factor (GCNF, NR6A1)
Anne Schohl1, Guillermo Barreto, Thomas O Joos
1Max-Planck-Institut fuer Entwicklungsbiologie, Spemannstrasse 35/V, D-72076 Tubingen, Germany.
Abstract:
The germ cell nuclear factor (GCNF) is a nuclear orphan receptor and a putative regulator of the pluripotent state of cells. Although it was first described in mouse germ cells, GCNF is also expressed in mouse and Xenopus embryos. By means of 5'RACE we have identified a novel isoform of Xenopus laevis GCNF that is predominantly expressed in germ cells, whereas both the oocyte and embryonic forms are expressed during Xenopus embryogenesis. EST database search revealed that the homologues of both isoforms are also transcribed in Xenopus tropicalis.
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