HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 72/5/1079    most recent biolreprod.104.036913v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Assémat, E. Articles by Kozyraki, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Assémat, E. Articles by Kozyraki, R. Agricola Articles by Assémat, E. Articles by Kozyraki, R.

Expression and Role of Cubilin in the Internalization of Nutrients During the Peri-Implantation Development of the Rodent Embryo¹

Inserm,⁴ UMR 538, Faculté de Médecine Saint-Antoine, Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire du Développement,⁵ CNRS, UMR7622, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 75012 Paris, France Unit of Developmental Genetics,⁶ Université Catholique de Louvain, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium Department for Internal Medicine,⁷ Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20246 Hamburg, Germany

Histiotrophic nutrition is essential during the peri-implantation development in rodents, but little is known about receptors involved in protein and lipid endocytosis derived from the endometrium and the uterine glands. Previous studies suggested that cubilin, a multiligand receptor for vitamin, iron, and protein uptake in the adult, might be important in this process, but the onset of its expression and function is not known. In this study, we analyzed the expression of cubilin in the pre- and early post-implantation rodent embryo and tested its potential function in protein and cholesterol uptake. Using morphological and Western blot analysis, we showed that cubilin first appeared at the eight-cell stage. It was expressed by the maternal-fetal interfaces, trophectoderm and visceral endoderm, but also by the future neuroepithelial cells and the developing neural tube. At all these sites, cubilin was localized at the apical pole of the cells exposed to the maternal environment or to the amniotic and neural tube cavities, and had a very similar distribution to megalin, a member of the LDLR gene family and a coreceptor for cubilin in adult tissues. To analyze cubilin function, we followed endocytosis of apolipoprotein A–I and HDL cholesterol, nutrients normally present in the uterine glands and essential for embryonic growth. We showed that internalization of both ligands was cubilin dependent during the early rodent gestation. In conclusion, the early cubilin expression and its function in protein and cholesterol uptake suggest an important role for cubilin in the development of the peri-implantation embryo.

cholesterol, cubilin, endocytosis, megalin, peri-implantation development

² Correspondence: Renata Kozyraki, INSERM UMR 538, 27 rue de Chaligny, 75012 Paris, France. FAX: 33 1 400 11 390; renata.kozyraki{at}chusa.jussieu.fr

³ E.A. and S.V. participated equally in the work

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. A. Pagler, S. Golsabahi, M. Doringer, S. Rhode, G. J. Schutz, M. Pavelka, C. Wadsack, M. Gauster, A. Lohninger, H. Laggner, et al. A Chinese Hamster Ovarian Cell Line Imports Cholesterol by High Density Lipoprotein Degradation J. Biol. Chem., December 15, 2006; 281(50): 38159 - 38171. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Kurimoto, Y. Yabuta, Y. Ohinata, Y. Ono, K. D. Uno, R. G. Yamada, H. R. Ueda, and M. Saitou An improved single-cell cDNA amplification method for efficient high-density oligonucleotide microarray analysis Nucleic Acids Res., March 17, 2006; 34(5): e42 - e42. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Yoshida and Y. Wada Transfer of maternal cholesterol to embryo and fetus in pregnant mice J. Lipid Res., October 1, 2005; 46(10): 2168 - 2174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]