Dissection of the c-Kit Signaling Pathway in Mouse Primordial Germ Cells by Retroviral-Mediated Gene Transfer

Establishment of the mammalian germ line is a prerequisite for fertility of the adult animal but we know surprisingly little about the molecular mechanisms regulating germ-line development in mammals. Signaling from the c-Kit receptor tyrosine kinase is essential for primordial germ cell (PGC) growt...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 99; no. 16; pp. 10458 - 10463
Main Authors De Miguel, Maria P., Cheng, Linzhao, Holland, Eric C., Federspiel, Mark J., Donovan, Peter J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 06.08.2002
National Acad Sciences
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Summary:Establishment of the mammalian germ line is a prerequisite for fertility of the adult animal but we know surprisingly little about the molecular mechanisms regulating germ-line development in mammals. Signaling from the c-Kit receptor tyrosine kinase is essential for primordial germ cell (PGC) growth both in vivo and in vitro. Many downstream effectors of the c-Kit signaling pathway have been identified in other cell types but how these molecules control PGC survival and proliferation are unknown. Determination of the c-Kit effectors acting in PGCs has been hampered by the lack of effective methods to easily manipulate gene expression in these cells. We overcame this problem by testing the efficacy of retroviral-mediated gene transfer for manipulating gene expression in mammalian germ cells. We found that PGCs can be successfully infected with a variety of types of retroviruses. We used this method to demonstrate an important role for the AKT kinase in regulating PGC growth. Such technology for manipulating gene expression in PGCs will allow many of the molecular mechanisms regulating germ cell growth, behavior, and differentiation to be comprehensively analyzed.
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To whom reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail: pdonovan@springfield.jci.tju.edu.
Communicated by John W. Littlefield, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.122249399