Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 1, 2026
12:09
Protocol for Human Blastoids Modeling Blastocyst Development and Implantation
Published on: August 10, 2022
7.4K
FGFR1 regulates trophectoderm development and facilitates blastocyst implantation
Agata Kurowski1, Andrei Molotkov1, Philippe Soriano1
1Department of Cell, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States.
Developmental Biology
|December 16, 2018
Summary
Fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling is crucial for mammalian development. Loss of FGFR1 or both FGFR1 and FGFR2 in mice causes early embryonic lethality due to impaired trophectoderm differentiation and implantation defects.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling, mediated by FGF receptors (FGFRs), is essential for mammalian development.
- FGFR1 and FGFR2 play critical roles, with mutations leading to developmental abnormalities and lethality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of FGFR1 and FGFR2 in trophectoderm (TE) development.
- To understand the basis for peri-implantation lethality in Fgfr1 knockout mouse models.
Main Methods:
- Generation and analysis of Fgfr1 and Fgfr2 knockout mouse embryos.
- In vivo assessment of TE cell behavior, including CDX2 expression and E-Cadherin polarity.
- In vitro derivation and differentiation of mutant trophoblast stem cells (TSCs).
Main Results:
- Fgfr1-/- and Fgfr1-/-Fgfr2-/- embryos exhibit peri-implantation lethality.
- Fgfr1-/- TE cells show defects in CDX2 downregulation and apicobasal polarity.
- Mutant TSCs could not be derived from Fgfr1-/-Fgfr2-/- blastocysts, and Fgfr1-/- TSCs had impaired differentiation.
Conclusions:
- FGFR1 and FGFR2 signaling are critical for proper TE differentiation and function.
- Compromised TE differentiation in Fgfr1 mutants leads to implantation defects and embryonic lethality.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Facilitated Transport
148.0K
The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a...
148.0K
01:19Facilitated Transport
18.7K
The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a...
18.7K
01:04Social Facilitation
36.6K
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
36.6K
01:16Facilitated Diffusion
1.3K
The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
1.3K
01:46Epigenetic Regulation
33.7K
Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
33.7K
02:23Master Transcription Regulators
7.8K
Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
7.8K