1. The Acrosomal Protein Dickkopf-Like 1 (DKKL1) Is Not Essential For Fertility OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of Dkkl1 on mouse development, viability, and fertility. DESIGN: Prospective experimental study. SETTING: Government research institution. ANIMAL(S): Mice of C57BL/6 and 129X1/SvJ strains, as well as transgenic mice of mixed C57BL/6 and 129X1/SvJ strains were used for the studies. INTERVENTION(S): Mice were constructed that lacked a functional Dkkl1 gene. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Deletion of the gene was confirmed by DNA, RNA, and protein analyses;in vivo fertility was examined by continuous mating scheme. RESULT(S): Previous studies have shown that Dkkl1, a gene unique to mammals, is expressed predominantly, if not exclusively, in developing spermatocytes, and the DKKL1 protein accumulates in the acrosome of mature sperm. Subsequent studies (reported in the accompanying article) demonstrate that Dkkl1 also is expressed in the trophectoderm/placental lineage. Taken together, these results strongly suggested that DKKL1 protein is required for terminal differentiation either of trophoblast giant cells or of sperm, both of which are directly involved in fertility. To challenge this hypothesis, conditional targeted mutagenesis was used to ablate the Dkkl1 gene in mice. Surprisingly, Dkkl1 nullizygous embryos developed into viable, fertile adults, despite the fact that they failed to produce any portion of the DKKL1 protein. CONCLUSION(S): DKKL1 is a mammalian-specific acrosomal protein that is not essential either for development or fertility. 2. The Acrosomal Protein Dickkopf-Like 1 (DKKL1) Facilitates Sperm Penetration Of The Zona Pellucida OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of Dkkl1 in mouse development, viability, and fertility. DESIGN: Prospective experimental study. SETTING: Government research institution. ANIMAL(S): Mice of C57BL/6, B6D2F1/J, and 129X1/SvJ strains, as well as transgenic mice of mixed C57BL/6 and 129X1/SvJ strains were used for the studies. INTERVENTION(S): Expression of the Dkkl1 gene was characterized during early mouse development, and the effects of Dkkl1 ablation on reproduction and fertility were characterized in vitro and in vivo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Dkkl1 RNA expression was determined by Northern blotting hybridization as well as quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assays. In vitro fertilization assays were used to assess fertility of sperm from male mice lacking functional Dkkl1. RESULT(S): Dkkl1 is a gene unique to mammals that is expressed primarily in developing spermatocytes and its product localized in the acrosome of mature sperm. Here we show that Dkkl1 also is expressed in the trophectoderm/placental lineage. Surprisingly, embryos lacking DKKL1 protein developed into viable, fertile adults. Nevertheless, the ability of sperm that lacked DKKL1 protein to fertilize wild-type eggs was severely compromised in vitro. Because this defect could be overcome either by removal of the zona pellucida or by the presence of wild-type sperm, Dkkl1, either directly or indirectly, facilitates the ability of sperm to penetrate the zona pellucida. Penetration of the zona pellucida by Dkkl1(-) sperm was delayed in vivo as well as in vitro, but the delay in vivo was compensated by other factors during preimplantation development. Accordingly, Dkkl1-/- males offer an in vitro fertilization model for identifying factors that may contribute to infertility. CONCLUSION(S): DKKL1 is a mammalian-specific, acrosomal protein that strongly affects in vitro fertilization, although the effect is attenuated in vivo. 3. Differentiation Of Trophoblast Stem Cells Into Giant Cells Is Triggered By p57/Kip2 Inhibition Of CDK1 Activity. Genome endoreduplication during mammalian development is a rare event for which the mechanism is unknown. It first appears when fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4) deprivation induces differentiation of trophoblast stem (TS) cells into the nonproliferating trophoblast giant (TG) cells required for embryo implantation. Here we show that RO3306 inhibition of cyclin-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDK1), the enzyme required to enter mitosis, induced differentiation of TS cells into TG cells. In contrast, RO3306 induced abortive endoreduplication and apoptosis in embryonic stem cells, revealing that inactivation of CDK1 triggers endoreduplication only in cells programmed to differentiate into polyploid cells. Similarly, FGF4 deprivation resulted in CDK1 inhibition by overexpressing two CDK-specific inhibitors, p57/KIP2 and p21/CIP1. TS cell mutants revealed that p57 was required to trigger endoreduplication by inhibiting CDK1, while p21 suppressed expression of the checkpoint protein kinase CHK1, thereby preventing induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, Cdk2(-/-) TS cells revealed that CDK2 is required for endoreduplication when CDK1 is inhibited. Expression of p57 in TG cells was restricted to G-phase nuclei to allow CDK activation of S phase. Thus, endoreduplication in TS cells is triggered by p57 inhibition of CDK1 with concomitant suppression of the DNA damage response by p21.
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