Journal article
Expression and Functional Analysis of Dkk1 during Early Gonadal Development
AN Combes, J Bowles, C-W Feng, HS Chiu, P-L Khoo, A Jackson, MH Little, PPL Tam, P Koopman
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT | KARGER | Published : 2011
DOI: 10.1159/000327709
Abstract
WNT signalling plays a central role in mammalian sex determination by promoting ovarian development and repressing aspects of testis development in the early gonad. Dickkopf homolog 1 (DKK1) is a WNT signalling antagonist that plays critical roles in multiple developmental systems by modulating WNT activity. Here, we examined the role of DKK1 in mouse sex determination and early gonadal development. Dkk1 mRNA was upregulated sex-specifically during testis differentiation, suggesting that DKK1 could repress WNT signalling in the developing testis. However, we observed overtly normal testis development in Dkk1-null XY gonads, and found no significant upregulation of Axin2 or Sp5 that would ind..
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Awarded by National Institutes of Health, USA
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was supported by research grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the National Institutes of Health, USA (DK070136). Confocal microscopy was performed at the Australian Cancer Research Foundation Dynamic Imaging Centre for Cancer Biology.