Ovarian Development in Mice Requires GATA4/FOG2 Transcriptional Complex

We have demonstrated previously that mammalian sexual differentiation requires both GATA4 and FOG2 transcription regulators to assemble the functioning testis. We have now determined that the sexual development of female mice is profoundly affected by the loss of GATA4-FOG2 interaction. We have also identified the Dkk1 gene, encoding a secreted inhibitor of canonical -catenin signaling as a target of GATA4/FOG2 repression in the developing ovary. The tissue-specific ablation of the -catenin gene in the gonads disrupts female development while in the Gata4ki/ki/Dkk1-/- or Fog2-/-/Dkk1-/- embryos the normal ovarian gene expression pattern is partially restored. Control of ovarian development by the GATA4/FOG2 complex presents a novel insight into the crosstalk of transcriptional regulation and extracellular signaling in ovarian development.

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