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Quantitative Analysis of Protein Expression to Study Lineage Specification in Mouse Preimplantation Embryos
Published on: February 22, 2016
Distinct sequential cell behaviours direct primitive endoderm formation in the mouse blastocyst
Berenika Plusa1, Anna Piliszek, Stephen Frankenberg
1Developmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, USA. Berenika.Plusa@manchester.ac.uk
Development (Cambridge, England)
|August 30, 2008
Summary
Researchers identified platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (Pdgfralpha) as a key marker for primitive endoderm (PrE) cell specification. This study reveals how PrE and epiblast (EPI) lineages segregate during early mammalian development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cell biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Mammalian development involves early differentiation into trophectoderm (TE) and primitive endoderm (PrE) lineages.
- Mechanisms of TE specification are well-studied, but PrE and epiblast (EPI) segregation is less understood.
- Current models propose random distribution and subsequent segregation of PrE precursors within the inner cell mass.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the molecular events and cellular behaviors driving PrE and EPI lineage segregation in mouse embryos.
- To identify early markers for PrE lineage specification.
- To correlate lineage segregation with embryonic development stages.
Main Methods:
- Utilized live imaging of mouse embryos with a histone H2B-GFP reporter under Pdgfra regulatory elements.
- Analyzed lineage-specific markers to track PrE and EPI differentiation.
- Employed an embryo staging system based on total cell number.
Main Results:
- Identified platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (Pdgfralpha) as an early-expressed protein and a marker for the PrE lineage.
- Observed overlapping expression of lineage-specific factors before blastocyst formation.
- Documented a gradual shift towards mutually exclusive PrE and EPI marker expression.
- Found that cell sorting involves diverse cell behaviors and selective apoptosis.
Conclusions:
- Pdgfralpha serves as an early marker for primitive endoderm specification.
- Lineage segregation involves a dynamic process of marker expression changes and cellular rearrangement.
- Selective apoptosis contributes to the final segregation of PrE and EPI lineages.
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