Making the blastocyst: lessons from the mouse
Katie Cockburn, Janet Rossant
Katie Cockburn, Janet Rossant
Published April 1, 2010
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2010;120(4):995-1003. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI41229.
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Making the blastocyst: lessons from the mouse

Abstract

Mammalian preimplantation development, which is the period extending from fertilization to implantation, results in the formation of a blastocyst with three distinct cell lineages. Only one of these lineages, the epiblast, contributes to the embryo itself, while the other two lineages, the trophectoderm and the primitive endoderm, become extra-embryonic tissues. Significant gains have been made in our understanding of the major events of mouse preimplantation development, and recent discoveries have shed new light on the establishment of the three blastocyst lineages. What is less clear, however, is how closely human preimplantation development mimics that in the mouse. A greater understanding of the similarities and differences between mouse and human preimplantation development has implications for improving assisted reproductive technologies and for deriving human embryonic stem cells.

Authors

Katie Cockburn, Janet Rossant

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Figure 3

Models of TE specification in the mouse embryo.

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Models of TE specification in the mouse embryo. (A) According to the ins...
(A) According to the inside-outside model, cells on the inside and outside of the embryo receive different amounts of cell contact, and this is translated into differences in transcription factor expression. (B) According to the cell polarity model, the presence or absence of an apical domain is translated into differences in transcription factor expression. (C) After the eight-cell stage, active Lats1/2 kinases phosphorylate Yap in inside cells, preventing its movement into the nucleus. Without Yap, Tead4 cannot induce the expression of Cdx2. In outside cells, Lat1 and Lat2 are inactive and Yap is free to move into the nucleus, activating Cdx2. Increased cell-cell contact on the inside of the embryo may activate Lat1 and Lat2 via the Hippo signaling pathway, while some component of the apical domain may inhibit Hippo signaling and Lat1 and Lat2 activity in outside cells.