| First Author | Soma A | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Genesis | Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 259-67 |
| PubMed ID | 23349035 | Mgi Jnum | J:195055 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5476375 | Doi | 10.1002/dvg.22369 |
| Citation | Soma A, et al. (2013) Visualization of inactive X chromosome in preimplantation embryos utilizing MacroH2A-EGFP transgenic mouse. Genesis 51(4):259-67 |
| abstractText | One of the two X chromosomes is inactivated in female eutherian mammals. MacroH2A, an unusual histone variant, is known to accumulate on the inactive X chromosome (Xi) during early embryo development, and can thus be used as a marker of the Xi. In this study, we produced a transgenic mouse line expressing the mouse MacroH2A1.2-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion protein (MacroH2A-EGFP) under the control of a CAG promoter and verified whether MacroH2A-EGFP would be useful for tracing the process of X chromosome inactivation by visualizing Xi noninvasively in preimplantation embryos. In transgenic female mice, MacroH2A-EGFP formed a fluorescent focus in nuclei throughout the body. In female blastocysts, the MacroH2A-EGFP focus colocalized with Xist RNA, well known as a marker of Xi. Fluorescence marking of Xi was first observed in some embryonic cells between the 4- and 8-cell stages. These results demonstrate that MacroH2A can bind to the Xi by around the 8-cell stage in female mouse embryos. These MacroH2A-EGFP transgenic mice might be useful to elucidate the process of X chromosome inactivation during the mouse life cycle. genesis 51:259-267. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
