The adrenal glands consist of an outer cortex and an inner medulla, and their primary purposes include hormone synthesis and secretion. The adrenal cortex produces a complex array of steroid hormones, whereas the medulla is part of the sympathetic nervous system and produces the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine. In the mouse, GATA binding protein (GATA) 4 and GATA6 transcription factors are coexpressed in several embryonic tissues, including the adrenal cortex. To explore the roles of GATA4 and GATA6 in mouse adrenal development, we conditionally deleted these genes in adrenocortical cells using the Sf1Cre strain of animals. We report here that mice with Sf1Cre-mediated double deletion of Gata4 and Gata6 genes lack identifiable adrenal glands, steroidogenic factor 1-positive cortical cells and steroidogenic gene expression in the adrenal location. The inactivation of the Gata6 gene alone (Sf1Cre;Gata6(flox/flox)) drastically reduced the adrenal size and corticosterone production in the adult animals. Adrenocortical aplasia is expected to result in the demise of the animal within 2 weeks after birth unless glucocorticoids are provided. In accordance, Sf1Cre;Gata4(flox/flox)Gata6(flox/flox) females depend on steroid supplementation to survive after weaning. Surprisingly, Sf1Cre;Gata4(flox/flox)Gata6(flox/flox) males appear to live normal lifespans as vital steroidogenic synthesis shifts to their testes. Our results reveal a requirement for GATA factors in adrenal development and provide a novel tool to characterize the transcriptional network controlling adrenocortical cell fates.
Pubmed ID: 25933105 RIS Download
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
This monoclonal targets GATA-6 (D61E4) XP Rabbit mAb
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets Ki67
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets 68kDa Neurofilament antibody
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets HSD3B2, HSD3B1
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgY (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal secondary targets IgY (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets BrdU - Proliferation Marker
View all literature mentions