title: RBP-Jkappa-dependent notch signaling is dispensable for mouse early embryonic development.
abstract: The Notch signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling system which has been shown to be essential in cell fate specification and in numerous aspects of embryonic development in all metazoans thus far studied. We recently demonstrated that several components of the Notch signaling pathway, including the four Notch receptors and their five ligands known in mammals, are expressed in mouse oocytes, in mouse preimplantation embryos, or both. This suggested a possible implication of the Notch pathway in the first cell fate specification of the dividing mouse embryo, which results in the formation of the blastocyst. To address this issue directly, we generated zygotes in which both the maternal and the zygotic expression of Rbpsuh, a key element of the core Notch signaling pathway, were abrogated. We find that such zygotes give rise to blastocysts which implant and develop normally. Nevertheless, after gastrulation, these embryos die around midgestation, similarly to Rbpsuh-null mutants. This demonstrates that the RBP-Jkappa-dependent pathway, otherwise called the canonical Notch pathway, is dispensable for blastocyst morphogenesis and the establishment of the three germ layers, ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. These results are discussed in the light of recent observations which have challenged this conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Unité Biologie du Développement, CNRS URA 2578, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Souilhol
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cormier
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanigaki
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Babinet
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cohen-Tannoudji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010064:Embryo Implantation / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005775:Gastrula / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D051819:Immunoglobulin J Recombination Signal Sequence-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D015053:Zygote / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051819:Immunoglobulin J Recombination Signal Sequence-Binding Protein; C497571:Rbpj protein, mouse; D051880:Receptors, Notch