Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Embryonic development

Maternal effect of Hsf1 on reproductive success

Nature volume 407, pages 693–694 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

A protein known as heat-shock factor-1 (HSF1) is a major transactivator of stress-inducible genes in response to environmental changes, but it is also implicated in extra-embryonic development and female fertility in mice1,2. Here we show that mouse embryos whose mothers lack this protein are unable to develop properly beyond the zygotic stage, although oocytes were ovulated and fertilized normally. Wild-type spermatozoa do not save zygotes from lethality, indicating that the reproductive failure of females deficient in this factor is caused by a 'maternal effect' mutation3, and that HSF1 from the mother normally controls early post-fertilization development.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Figure 1 Developmental fates of preimplantation embryos collected from Hsf1−/− and Hsf1+/− females.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. McMillan, D. R., Xiao, X., Shao, L., Graves, K. & Benjamin, I. J. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 7523– 7528 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Xiao, X. et al. EMBO J. 18, 5943–5952 ( 1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Schupbach, T. & Wieschaus, E. Genetics 121, 101–117 (1989).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Jedlicka, P., Mortin, M. A. & Wu, C. EMBO J. 16, 2452– 2462 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Greenhouse, S., Rankin, T. & Dean, J. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 62, 1282– 1287 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Schultz, R. M. BioEssays 15, 531–538 ( 1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Bensaude, O., Babinet, C., Morange, M. & Jacob, F. Nature 305, 331–333 (1983).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Christians, E., Campion, E., Thompson, E. M. & Renard, J. P. Development 121, 113–122 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Christians, E. et al. Mol. Cell Biol. 17, 778–788 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Bevilacqua, A., Fiorenza, M. T. & Mangia, F. Development 127, 1541– 1551 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Latham, K. E., Garrels, J. I., Chang, C. & Solter, D. Development 112, 921–932 (1991).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Davis, W. Jr & Schultz, R. M. Dev. Biol. 218, 275–283 ( 2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. A. A. Davis

    Present address: Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, Texas, 76134-2099, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Histology and Embryology Faculty of Veterinary Medecine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, Liège, 4000, Belgium

    E. Christians

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75390-8573, Texas, USA

    A. A. Davis, S. D. Thomas & I. J. Benjamin

  3. Division of Cell and Molecular Biology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75390-8573, Texas, USA

    I. J. Benjamin

Authors
  1. E. Christians
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. A. Davis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. D. Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. I. J. Benjamin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to I. J. Benjamin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Christians, E., Davis, A., Thomas, S. et al. Maternal effect of Hsf1 on reproductive success. Nature 407, 693–694 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35037669

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35037669

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing