A Null Mutation in Basigin, an Immunoglobulin Superfamily Member, Indicates Its Important Roles in Peri-implantation Development and Spermatogenesis

• Published in: Developmental biology Vol. 194; no. 2; pp. 152 - 165
• Main Authors: Igakura, Tadahiko, Kadomatsu, Kenji, Kaname, Tadashi, Muramatsu, Hisako, Fan, Qi-Wen, Miyauchi, Teruo, Toyama, Yoshiro, Kuno, Naohiko, Yuasa, Shigeki, Takahashi, Masahide, Senda, Takao, Taguchi, Osamu, Yamamura, Ken-ichi, Arimura, Kimiyoshi, Muramatsu, Takashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.02.1998
• Subjects: Animals; Antigens, CD; Antigens, Neoplasm; Antigens, Surface - genetics; Antigens, Surface - physiology; Avian Proteins; Basigin; Blood Proteins; Embryo Implantation - genetics; Female; Male; Membrane Glycoproteins - genetics; Membrane Glycoproteins - physiology; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Mice, Mutant Strains; Mutation; Spermatogenesis - genetics
• ISSN: 0012-1606; 1095-564X
• DOI: 10.1006/dbio.1997.8819

Basigin is a highly glycosylated transmembrane protein with two immunoglobulin-like domains. We generated mutant mice lacking the basigin gene (Bsg) by gene targeting.Bsg(−/−) embryos developed normally during preimplantation stages. However, the majority ofBsg(−/−) embryos died around the time of implantation. At this time, basigin mRNA was strongly expressed in the trophectoderm, embryo proper, and uterine endometrium ofBsg(+/+) mice. These results suggest that basigin is involved in intercellular recognition during implantation. Embryos which survived the critical period yieldedBsg(−/−) mutant mice. Half of the mutant mice died before 1 month after birth, due to interstitial pneumonia. The surviving adult mutant mice were small and sterile. Spermatogenesis was arrested in the mutant mice. Most of the spermatocytes in theBsg(−/−) mouse were arrested and degenerated at the metaphase of the first meiosis, and only a small number differentiated to step 1 spermatids. In the female mutants, the ovaries and genital tract were morphologically normal, and the defect was probably in the capability of implantation of the uterus. In conclusion, basigin is an important cell-surface molecule involved in early embryogenesis and reproduction.