Essential Roles of Inhibin Beta a in Mouse Epididymal Coiling
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Essential roles of inhibin beta A in mouse epididymal coiling Jessica Tomaszewski*, Avenel Joseph†, Denise Archambeault†, and Humphrey Hung-Chang Yao†‡ *Department of Biology, School of Integrative Biology, and †Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61802 Edited by Jean D. Wilson, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, and approved May 29, 2007 (received for review April 13, 2007) Testis-derived testosterone has been recognized as the key factor appear to be indirect via a mesenchyme-derived regulator(s). When for morphogenesis of the Wolffian duct, the precursor of several the upper Wolffian duct epithelium (the future epididymis) was male reproductive tract structures. Evidence supports that testos- grafted onto the lower Wolffian duct mesenchyme (the future terone is required for the maintenance of the Wolffian duct via its seminal vesicle), the epithelium underwent seminal vesicle mor- action on the mesenchyme. However, it remains uncertain how phogenesis and expressed markers specific for seminal vesicle testosterone alone is able to facilitate formation of regionally epithelium instead of those for epididymal epithelium (10). This specific structures such as the epididymis, vas deferens, and sem- inductive ability of Wolffian duct mesenchyme was also found in the inal vesicle from a straight Wolffian duct. In this study, we iden- prostate, providing further support that AR in the mesenchyme is tified inhibin beta A (or Inhba) as a regional paracrine factor in necessary to dictate androgenic actions of the epithelium (11). mouse mesonephroi that controls coiling of the epithelium in the Furthermore, when the epithelium from the AR-deficient testicular anterior Wolffian duct, the future epididymis. Inhba was expressed feminization mutation mouse was recombined with wild-type pros- specifically in the mesenchyme of the anterior Wolffian duct at tatic mesenchyme the AR-deficient epithelium still underwent embryonic day 12.5 before the production of androgens. In the ductal morphogenesis, proliferation, and cytodifferentiation resem- absence of Inhba, the epididymis failed to develop the character- bling the prostate (12, 13). These experiments together demon- istic coiling in the epithelium, which showed a dramatic decrease strate that morphogenesis of the Wolffian duct requires direct in proliferation. This loss of epididymal coiling did not result from androgen action on the mesenchyme to maintain its survival and a testosterone deficiency, because testosterone production and pa- mesenchyme–epithelium interaction to determine the regional rameters for testosterone action such as testis descent and ano- specialization of the epithelium. genital distance remained normal. We further found that initial The goals of the current research were to identify a putative Inhba expression did not require testosterone as Inhba was also mesenchyme-derived factor that has a functional role in regulating expressed in the anterior Wolffian duct of female embryos where Wolffian duct morphogenesis. Our preliminary data demonstrated no testosterone was produced. However, Inhba expression at later that inhibin beta A (Inhba) was expressed specifically in the stages depended on testosterone. These results demonstrated that mesenchyme of the anterior Wolffian duct, the future epididymis Inhba, a mesenchyme-specific gene, acts collectively with testos- (14). Inhba, a subunit of both inhibins and activins, has been shown terone to facilitate epididymal coiling by stimulating epithelial to be involved in ductal morphogenesis of the kidney and prostate proliferation. during embryonic development (15, 16). We therefore hypothe- sized that Inhba was a potential candidate for the mesenchyme- activin ͉ androgen ͉ epididymis ͉ Wolffian duct derived gene responsible for transforming a straight Wolffian duct into the convoluted and coiled structure of the epididymis. lfred Jost (1, 2) first demonstrated in the 1940s and 1950s that Results testosterone is required for the maintenance of the Wolffian A Expression of Inhba and Phospho-SMAD2/3 During Wolffian Duct duct, the precursor of several male reproductive tract structures. Development. To identify genes that may be involved in Wolffian Castration of male rabbit embryos resulted in a complete regression duct differentiation, we performed in situ hybridization screening of the Wolffian duct, and testosterone replacement was able to on various signaling molecules such as members of the TGF- restore the development of the Wolffian duct. The critical role of family. We found that mRNA for Inhba was expressed in the androgen signaling in establishment of the male reproductive tract anterior and middle portions of the mesonephros or the future was further confirmed by null mutations of the androgen receptor epididymis (Fig. 1A). Expression of Inhba was also found in the (AR) as seen in human cases of androgen insensitivity syndrome testis as described (14). At E15.5, when Wolffian duct morphogen- and in the Tfm (testis feminization) mouse. In these examples, the esis commenced, Inhba mRNA was exclusively expressed in the XY individuals developed as pseudohermaphrodites with degen- mesenchyme but not the epithelium of the Wolffian duct (Fig. 1A). erated Wolffian ducts and internal testes (3–5). Furthermore, This mesenchyme-specific pattern of Inhba expression persisted in administration of antiandrogens to pregnant females suppressed mesonephroi at E17.5 and E19.5, as the anterior Wolffian duct development of internal and external genitalia of male offspring (6, began to coil and take on the appearance of the adult epididymis 7). This evidence cements the paradigm of sexual differentiation (data not shown). Because Inhba is a critical subunit of activins and that claims testosterone as the only testis-derived factor essential for the establishment of the male reproductive tract. The mechanism of testosterone action on the Wolffian duct Author contributions: J.T., A.J., and H.H.-C.Y. designed research; J.T., A.J., and D.A. per- involves the interaction between epithelium and mesenchyme. In formed research; J.T., A.J., D.A. and H.H.-C.Y. analyzed data; J.T. and H.H.-C.Y. wrote the mouse embryos, AR first appeared in the mesenchyme surrounding paper; and A.J. and D.A. provided critical comments on scientific content. the Wolffian duct. Conversely, AR was not expressed in the ductal The authors declare no conflict of interest. epithelium until embryonic day 15.5 (E15.5), when the ductal This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. morphogenesis starts (8). In the absence of androgens, Wolffian Abbreviations: AR, androgen receptor; En, embryonic day; Inhba, inhibin beta A. duct mesenchyme underwent degeneration via apoptosis, indicat- ‡To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected]. ing that androgens stabilize Wolffian duct development by directly This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/ acting on the Wolffian duct mesenchyme (9). The actions of 0703445104/DC1. androgen on the Wolffian duct epithelium, on the other hand, © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA 11322–11327 ͉ PNAS ͉ July 3, 2007 ͉ vol. 104 ͉ no. 27 www.pnas.org͞cgi͞doi͞10.1073͞pnas.0703445104 Downloaded by guest on September 30, 2021 Fig. 1. Functional roles of Inhba in mouse epididymal coiling. (A) Expression of Inhba mRNA in whole-mount (Upper) and sectioned (Lower) mesonephroi at E15.5. Positive staining (red arrows) appears as dark purple. Anterior of the embryo is on the left. (B) Immunocy- tochemistry for phospho-SMAD2/3 (green) counter- stained with nuclear marker DAPI (red) in the Wolffian duct at E15.5. (Inset) A higher magnification (ϫ40) of a portion of the epithelium is shown to demonstrate the speckled nuclear staining of the phospho- SMAD2/3. (C) Whole-mount in situ hybridization for Pax2, an epithelial cell marker for the Wolffian duct, on mesonephroi without testes attached on wild-type (Left) and InhbaϪ/Ϫ (Right) embryos at E15.5 (Top), E17.5 (Middle), and E19.5 (Bottom). Specific staining appears as dark purple (red arrows and magnification was ϫ4). cp, caput; cr, corpus; cd, cauda; ep, epithe- lium; me, mesenchyme; t, testis. (Scale bars: 500 m, A; 100 m, B.) inhibins (antagonists of activins), we investigated whether the gen action, including Leydig cell differentiation, testis descent, activin pathway was active in the Wolffian duct. We examined the anogenital distance, and testosterone production. First, we found intracellular effectors of activins, phospho-SMAD2/3, by immuno- that the expression of P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450 Scc), cytochemistry. Phospho-SMAD2/3 was detected in nuclei of the a steroidogenic marker for Leydig cells, was present in both the Wolffian duct epithelium, but not the mesenchyme, at E15.5, E17.5, wild-type and InhbaϪ/Ϫ testis (Fig. 2A). Second, we isolated the and E19.5 (representative image seen in Fig. 1B). These observa- entire urogenital tract at E19.5 to examine testis descent, a process BIOLOGY tions together suggest that the Wolffian duct mesenchyme is a controlled by androgens. The InhbaϪ/Ϫ testes descended to the source of activins, which could act on the Wolffian duct epithelium. lateral side of the bladder similarly to their wild-type littermates DEVELOPMENTAL (Fig. 2A). The anogenital distance, which is normally greater in Defects in Epididymal Coiling in Inhba؊/؊ Embryos. To investigate males than females