1. β-cateninC429S mice exhibit sterility consequent to spatiotemporally sustained Wnt signalling in the internal genitalia
- Author
-
Takuya Murata, Yuichi Ishitsuka, Kumiko Karouji, Hideaki Toki, Hayato Kotaki, Hideki Kaneda, Yuji Nakai, Tetsuo Noda, Shigeru Makino, Yoichi Gondo, Ryutaro Fukumura, and Shigeharu Wakana
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Beta-catenin ,Transgene ,Mutant ,Morphogenesis ,Mice, Transgenic ,Biology ,Article ,Mice ,Genes, Reporter ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Animals ,Wnt Signaling Pathway ,Infertility, Male ,beta Catenin ,Ovum ,Multidisciplinary ,Homozygote ,Wnt signaling pathway ,Seminal Vesicles ,LRP6 ,LRP5 ,Embryo, Mammalian ,Spermatozoa ,Cell biology ,Mice, Inbred C57BL ,Wnt Proteins ,Endocrinology ,Mutation ,Vagina ,biology.protein ,Female ,Signal transduction ,Infertility, Female - Abstract
Wnt/β-catenin signalling regulates numerous developmental and homeostatic processes. Ctnnb1 (also known as β-catenin) is the only protein that transmits signals from various Wnt ligands to downstream genes. In this study, we report that our newly established mouse strain, which harbours a Cys429 to Ser missense mutation in the β-catenin gene, exhibited specific organ defects in contrast to mice with broadly functioning Wnt/β-catenin signalling. Both homozygous mutant males and females produced normal gametes but were infertile because of abnormal seminal vesicle and vaginal morphogenesis. An ins-TOPGAL transgenic reporter spatiotemporally sustained Wnt/β-catenin signalling during the corresponding organogenesis. Therefore, β-cateninC429S should provide new insights into β-catenin as a universal component of Wnt/β-catenin signal transduction.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF