Uterine Msx-1 and Wnt4 signaling becomes aberrant in mice with the loss of leukemia inhibitory factor or Hoxa-10: evidence for a novel cytokine-homeobox-Wnt …

T Daikoku, H Song, Y Guo, A Riesewijk… - Molecular …, 2004 - academic.oup.com
T Daikoku, H Song, Y Guo, A Riesewijk, S Mosselman, SK Das, SK Dey
Molecular endocrinology, 2004academic.oup.com
Successful implantation absolutely depends on the reciprocal interaction between the
implantation-competent blastocyst and the receptive uterus. Expression and gene targeting
studies have shown that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a cytokine of the IL-6 family, and
Hoxa-10, an abdominalB-like homeobox gene, are crucial to implantation and
decidualization in mice. Using these mutant mice, we sought to determine the importance of
Msx-1 (another homeobox gene formerly known as Hox-7.1) and of Wnt4 (a ligand of the …
Abstract
Successful implantation absolutely depends on the reciprocal interaction between the implantation-competent blastocyst and the receptive uterus. Expression and gene targeting studies have shown that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a cytokine of the IL-6 family, and Hoxa-10, an abdominalB-like homeobox gene, are crucial to implantation and decidualization in mice. Using these mutant mice, we sought to determine the importance of Msx-1 (another homeobox gene formerly known as Hox-7.1) and of Wnt4 (a ligand of the Wnt family) signaling in implantation because of their reported functions during development. We observed that Msx-1, Wnt4, and a Wnt antagonist sFRP4 are differentially expressed in the mouse uterus during the periimplantation period, suggesting their role in implantation. In addition, we observed an aberrant uterine expression of Msx-1 and sFRP4 in Lif mutant mice, and of Wnt4 and sFRP4 in Hoxa-10 mutant mice, further reinforcing the importance of these signaling pathways in implantation. Collectively, the present results provide evidence for a novel cytokine-homeotic-Wnt signaling network in implantation.
Oxford University Press