title: CCN5 Expression in mammals. III. Early embryonic mouse development.
abstract: CCN proteins play crucial roles in development, angiogenesis, cell motility, matrix turnover, proliferation, and other fundamental cell processes. Early embryonic lethality in CCN5 knockout and over-expressing mice led us to characterize CCN5 distribution in early development. Previous papers in this series showed that CCN5 is expressed widely in mice from E9.5 to adult; however, its distribution before E9.5 has not been studied. To fill this gap in our knowledge of CCN5 expression in mammals, RT-PCR was performed on preimplantation murine embryos: 1 cell, 2 cell, 4 cell, early morula, late morula, and blastocyst. CCN5 mRNA was not detected in 1, 2, or 4 cell embryos. It was first detected at the early morula stage and persisted to the preimplantation blastocyst stage. Immunohistochemical staining showed widespread CCN5 expression in post-implantation blastocysts (E4.5), E5.5, E6.5, and E7.5 stage embryos. Consistent with our previous study on E9.5 embryos, this expression was not limited to a particular germ layer or cell type. The widespread distribution of CCN5 in early embryos suggests a crucial role in development.
authors.affiliation: Program in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Kibibi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rwayitare
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Richey
authors.forename: Janis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lem
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Castellot