| First Author | Kudo T | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Mol Cell Biol | Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 4221-8 |
| PubMed ID | 15121843 | Mgi Jnum | J:89933 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3041940 | Doi | 10.1128/MCB.24.10.4221-4228.2004 |
| Citation | Kudo T, et al. (2004) Normal embryonic and germ cell development in mice lacking alpha 1,3-fucosyltransferase IX (Fut9) which show disappearance of stage-specific embryonic antigen 1. Mol Cell Biol 24(10):4221-8 |
| abstractText | Stage-specific embryonic antigen 1 (SSEA-1), an antigenic epitope defined as a Lewis x carbohydrate structure, is expressed during the 8-cell to blastocyst stages in mouse embryos and in primordial germ cells, undifferentiated embryonic stem cells, and embryonic carcinoma cells. For many years, SSEA-1 has been implicated in the development of mouse embryos as a functional carbohydrate epitope in cell-to-cell interaction during morula compaction. In a previous study, alpha 1,3-fucosyltransferase IX (Fut9) exhibited very strong activity for the synthesis of Lewis x compared to other alpha 1,3-fucosyltransferases in an in vitro substrate specificity assay. Fut4 and Fut9 transcripts were expressed in mouse embryos. The Fut9 transcript was detected in embryonic-day-13.5 gonads containing primordial germ cells, but the Fut4 transcript was not. In order to identify the role of SSEA-1 and determine the key enzyme for SSEA-1 synthesis in vivo, we have generated Fut9-deficient (Fut9(-/-)) mice. Fut9(-/-) mice develop normally, with no gross phenotypic abnormalities, and are fertile. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed an absence of SSEA-1 expression in early embryos and primordial germ cells of Fut9(-/-) mice. Therefore, we conclude that expression of the SSEA-1 epitope in the developing mouse embryo is not essential for embryogenesis in vivo. |
