When fed high-fat diets, male LDLR(-/-) mice develop obesity, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and arteriosclerotic calcification. An osteogenic Msx-Wnt regulatory program is concomitantly upregulated in the vasculature. To better understand the mechanisms of diabetic arteriosclerosis, we generated SM22-Cre;Msx1(fl/fl);Msx2(fl/fl);LDLR(-/-) mice, assessing the impact of Msx1+Msx2 gene deletion in vascular myofibroblast and smooth muscle cells. Aortic Msx2 and Msx1 were decreased by 95% and 34% in SM22-Cre;Msx1(fl/fl);Msx2(fl/fl);LDLR(-/-) animals versus Msx1(fl/fl);Msx2(fl/fl);LDLR(-/-) controls, respectively. Aortic calcium was reduced by 31%, and pulse wave velocity, an index of stiffness, was decreased in SM22-Cre;Msx1(fl/fl);Msx2(fl/fl);LDLR(-/-) mice vs. controls. Fasting blood glucose and lipids did not differ, yet SM22-Cre;Msx1(fl/fl);Msx2(fl/fl);LDLR(-/-) siblings became more obese. Aortic adventitial myofibroblasts from SM22-Cre;Msx1(fl/fl);Msx2(fl/fl);LDLR(-/-) mice exhibited reduced osteogenic gene expression and mineralizing potential with concomitant reduction in multiple Wnt genes. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and Sca1, markers of aortic osteogenic progenitors, were also reduced, paralleling a 78% reduction in alkaline phosphatase (TNAP)-positive adventitial myofibroblasts. RNA interference revealed that although Msx1+Msx2 supports TNAP and Wnt7b expression, Msx1 selectively maintains Shh and Msx2 sustains Wnt2, Wnt5a, and Sca1 expression in aortic adventitial myofibroblast cultures. Thus, Msx1 and Msx2 support vascular mineralization by directing the osteogenic programming of aortic progenitors in diabetic arteriosclerosis.

Predisposition to breast and extrauterine Müllerian carcinomas in BRCA1 mutation carriers is due to a combination of cell-autonomous consequences of BRCA1 inactivation on cell cycle homeostasis superimposed on cell-nonautonomous hormonal factors magnified by the effects of BRCA1 mutations on hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle. We used the Müllerian inhibiting substance type 2 receptor (Mis2r) promoter and a truncated form of the Follicle stimulating hormone receptor (Fshr) promoter to introduce conditional knockouts of Brca1 and p53 not only in mouse mammary and Müllerian epithelia, but also in organs that control the estrous cycle. Sixty percent of the double mutant mice developed invasive Müllerian and mammary carcinomas. Mice carrying heterozygous mutations in Brca1 and p53 also developed invasive tumors, albeit at a lesser (30%) rate, in which the wild type alleles were no longer present due to loss of heterozygosity. While mice carrying heterozygous mutations in both genes developed mammary tumors, none of the mice carrying only a heterozygous p53 mutation developed such tumors (P < 0.0001), attesting to a role for Brca1 mutations in tumor development. This mouse model is attractive to investigate cell-nonautonomous mechanisms associated with cancer predisposition in BRCA1 mutation carriers and to investigate the merit of chemo-preventive drugs targeting such mechanisms.

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are a highly migratory cell population that gives rise to eggs and sperm. Much is known about PGC specification, but less about the processes that control PGC migration. In this study, we document a deficiency in PGC development in embryos carrying global homozygous null mutations in Msx1 and Msx2, both immediate downstream effectors of Bmp signaling pathway. We show that Msx1(-/-);Msx2(-/-) mutant embryos have defects in PGC migration as well as a reduced number of PGCs. These phenotypes are also evident in a Mesp1-Cre-mediated mesoderm-specific mutant line of Msx1 and Msx2. Since PGCs are not marked in Mesp1-lineage tracing, our results suggest that Msx1 and Msx2 function cell non-autonomously in directing PGC migration. Consistent with this hypothesis, we noted an upregulation of fibronectin, well known as a mediator of cell migration, in tissues through which PGCs migrate. We also noted a reduction in the expression of Wnt5a and an increase in the expression in Bmp4 in such tissues in Msx1(-/-);Msx2(-/-) mutants, both known effectors of PGC development.