Publication Date:
2006-04-01
Description:
Germ cells in the mouse embryo can develop as oocytes or spermatogonia, depending on molecular cues that have not been identified. We found that retinoic acid, produced by mesonephroi of both sexes, causes germ cells in the ovary to enter meiosis and initiate oogenesis. Meiosis is retarded in the fetal testis by the action of the retinoid-degrading enzyme CYP26B1, ultimately leading to spermatogenesis. In testes of Cyp26b1-knockout mouse embryos, germ cells enter meiosis precociously, as if in a normal ovary. Thus, precise regulation of retinoid levels during fetal gonad development provides the molecular control mechanism that specifies germ cell fate.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bowles, Josephine -- Knight, Deon -- Smith, Christopher -- Wilhelm, Dagmar -- Richman, Joy -- Mamiya, Satoru -- Yashiro, Kenta -- Chawengsaksophak, Kallayanee -- Wilson, Megan J -- Rossant, Janet -- Hamada, Hiroshi -- Koopman, Peter -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2006 Apr 28;312(5773):596-600. Epub 2006 Mar 30.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16574820" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System/genetics/*metabolism
;
Female
;
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
;
Genes, Reporter
;
Germ Cells/*physiology
;
In Situ Hybridization
;
Lac Operon
;
Male
;
*Meiosis
;
Mesonephros/metabolism
;
Mice
;
Mice, Knockout
;
Naphthalenes/pharmacology
;
*Oogenesis
;
Ovary/embryology/metabolism
;
Receptors, Retinoic Acid/antagonists & inhibitors
;
Sertoli Cells/enzymology
;
Sex Characteristics
;
*Signal Transduction
;
*Spermatogenesis
;
Testis/embryology/metabolism
;
Tissue Culture Techniques
;
Tretinoin/*metabolism/pharmacology
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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