Atypical protein kinase C couples cell sorting with primitive endoderm maturation in the mouse blastocyst.

ABSTRACT: During mouse pre-implantation development, extra-embryonic primitive endoderm (PrE) and pluripotent epiblast precursors are specified in the inner cell mass (ICM) of the early blastocyst in a 'salt and pepper' manner, and are subsequently sorted into two distinct layers. Positional cues provided by the blastocyst cavity are thought to be instrumental for cell sorting; however, the sequence of events and the mechanisms that control this segregation remain unknown. Here, we show that atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), a protein associated with apicobasal polarity, is specifically enriched in PrE precursors in the ICM prior to cell sorting and prior to overt signs of cell polarisation. aPKC adopts a polarised localisation in PrE cells only after they reach the blastocyst cavity and form a matu

SUBMITTER: Saiz N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4007710 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature