PhD Public Seminar: JACE A. ALOWAY

Event Description

Jace Alexander Aloway, BS (Advisor: Richard Behringer, PhD)

The Role of Wt1 in Müllerian Duct Development

     WT1 is a zinc finger transcription factor widely expressed in the urogenital system. Human mutations of WT1 lead to pediatric nephroblastoma as well as frequent differences of sex development (DSDs). Previous studies have suggested that WT1 acts as an activator for Amhr2, a necessary component of typical sex differentiation. To investigate the role of WT1 in sex development, we deleted Wt1 in the Müllerian duct (MD) mesenchyme using a novel conditional null reporter allele, Wt1 flox-RFP. This allele utilizes the Cre-lox system to delete exons 8 and 9 of Wt1, disrupting the DNA binding capability of the protein. Simultaneously, a nuclear red fluorescent protein is activated in cells expressing the recombined allele. After validating and characterizing this allele, we drove recombination in the MD mesenchyme using Amhr2-Cre. We found that loss of WT1 function in the MD mesenchyme resulted in the male developing a persistent Müllerian duct (PMD).

Advisory Committee:

• Richard Behringer, PhD, Chair
• George Eisenhoffer, PhD
• Vicki Huff, PhD
• Rachel Miller, PhD
• Yoshihiro Komatsu, PhD