title: Oocyte-directed depletion of connexin43 using the Cre-LoxP system leads to subfertility in female mice.
abstract: Gap junctions, predominantly comprising connexin43 (Cx43), mediate cell-to-cell communication within the ovarian follicle. However, the partaking of Cx43 in the formation of the gap junction channels, between the oocyte and the somatic cells, is controversial. We addressed this dispute by crossing females that carry a Cx43 coding region, flanked by loxP recognition sites, with males expressing the Cre recombinase under the control of Zp3 promoter. Oocytes of the resultant Zp3Cre;Gja1(lox/lox) mice did not express Cx43 and were referred to as Cx43(del/del). Unexpectedly, a decrease in Cx43 was observed in cumulus/granulosa cells of some follicles as well. Nevertheless, no histological abnormalities were detected in the ovaries of the Zp3Cre;Gja1(lox/lox) mice. Furthermore, these mice ovulated normally and developed fully functional corpora lutea. Additionally, the ovarian Cx43(del/del) oocytes were meiotically arrested and transferred Lucifer yellow to the surrounding cumulus cells. However, mating Zp3Cre;Gja1(lox/lox) females with wild-type males resulted in a reduced rate of parturition and a substantial decrease in litter size. Further examination revealed that although preimplantation development of Zp3Cre;Gja1(lox/+) embryos was normal, the blactocysts exhibited impaired implantation. Our data suggest that total ablation of Cx43 in the oocyte, combined with its decrease in the surrounding somatic cells, allows normal oogenesis and folliculogenesis, ovulation and early embryonic development but severely impairs the implantation capacity of the resulting blactocysts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Regulation, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gershon
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Plaks
authors.forename: Idan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aharon
authors.forename: Dalia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galiani
authors.forename: Yitzhak
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Reizel
authors.forename: Sagit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sela-Abramovich
authors.forename: Irit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Granot
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Winterhager
authors.forename: Nava
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dekel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000378:metabolism*; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D007246:Infertility; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018031:Connexin 43