Short-term rescue by RNA injection of a mitotic arrest mutation that affects the preimplantation mouse embryo

Phenotyping by magnetic resonance imaging nondestructively measures glomerular number and volume distribution in mice with and without nephron reduction

Reduced nephron mass is strongly linked to susceptibility to chronic renal and cardiovascular diseases. There are currently no tools to identify nephropenia in clinical or preclinical diagnostics. Such new methods could uncover novel mechanisms and therapies for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and reveal how variation among traits can affect renal function and morphology. Here we used cationized ferritin (CF)–enhanced MRI (CFE-MRI) to investigate the relationship between glomerular number (Nglom) and volume (Vglom) in kidneys of healthy wild-type mice and mice with oligosyndactylism (Os/+), a model of congenital nephron reduction. Mice were injected with CF and perfused, and the resected kidneys were imaged with 7T MRI to detect CF-labeled glomeruli. CFE-MRI was used to measure the intrarenal distribution of individual glomerular volumes and revealed two major populations of glomeruli distinguished by size. Spatial mapping revealed that the largest glomeruli were located in the juxtamedullary region in both wild-type and Os/+ mice and the smallest population located in the cortex. Os/+ mice had about a 50% reduction and 35% increase of Nglom and Vglom, respectively, in both glomerular populations compared with wild type, consistent with glomerular hypertrophy in the Os/+ mice. Thus, we provide a foundation for whole-kidney, MRI-based phenotyping of mouse renal glomerular morphology and provide new potential for quantitative human renal diagnostics.

Oligosyndactylism mice have an inversion of chromosome 8

The radiation-induced mutation Oligosyndactylism (Os) is associated with limb and kidney defects in heterozygotes and with mitotic arrest and embryonic lethality in homozygotes. We reported that the cell cycle block in Os and in the 94-A/K transgene-induced mutations is due to disruption of the Anapc10 (Apc10/Doc1) gene. To understand the genetic basis of the limb and kidney abnormalities in Os mice we characterized the structural changes of chromosome 8 associated with this mutation. We demonstrate that the Os chromosome 8 has suffered two breaks that are 5 cM ( approximately 10 Mb) apart and the internal fragment delineated by the breaks is in an inverted orientation on the mutant chromosome. While sequences in proximity to the distal break are present in an abnormal Os-specific Anapc10 hybrid transcript, transcription of these sequences in normal mice is low and difficult to detect. Transfer of the Os mutation onto an FVB/N background indicated that the absence of dominant effects in 94-A/K mice is not due to strain background effects on the mutation. Further analysis of this mutation will determine if a gene interrupted by the break or a long-range effect of the rearrangement on neighboring genes is responsible for the dominant effects of Os.

Disruption of Apc10/Doc1 in three alleles of oligosyndactylism

Oligosyndactylism (Os) is a radiation-induced mouse mutation associated with recessive lethality and a dominant effect on limb and kidney development. The lethal effect of the mutation is due to a cell-autonomous block in the transition from metaphase to anaphase. We have previously characterized two transgene-induced mutations, 94-A and 94-K, which are allelic with Os. These mutations facilitated the identification of genomic segments and transcribed sequences in the affected region. One of the transcripts in this region corresponds to the mouse homolog of the anaphase-promoting complex component APC10/DOC1. The disruption of this gene can explain the mitotic arrest phenotype of all three alleles of Os.

Spindle-pole organization during early mouse development

Spindle-pole organization during early mouse development was examined using a variety of immunological reagents that recognize centrosomal components. Spindle poles of unfertilized eggs and blastocysts were found to react positively with two antisera (centrin and NRS-01), whereas poles of activated eggs and early cleavage-stage embryos were negative when treated with the same sera. In contrast, a third antiserum (5051) showed positive spindle-pole staining throughout the preimplantation stages of development. Two monoclonal antibodies (MPM-1 and MPM-2) that are known to react with mitotic phosphoproteins were also used in this study. Both antibodies stained the cytoplasm of mitotic cells with extremely high intensity. In addition, MPM-2 was found to stain spindle poles. These results suggest that organizational changes in the spindle pole are occurring during early mouse development. Embryos homozygous for a recessive lethal mutation known as oligosyndactyly (Os) were also treated with the reagents described above. This mutation results in a metaphase arrest at the blastocyst stage with intact spindles being present. Spindle poles were observed in Os homozygous mutants stained with centrin, NRS-01, and 5051. However, when Os mutants were stained with the MPM monoclonal antibodies, about half of the mitotic cells completely lacked the dramatic cytoplasmic staining. This observation is in contrast to that observed for wild-type embryos, where greater than 95% of mitotic cells showed positive cytoplasmic staining.