Dissecting the fate of Foxl2-expressing cells in ovary development using lineage tracing and Single-Cell Transcriptomics
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE163879 | GEO | 2022/11/22
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Foxl2 is a forkhead transcription factor essential for proper reproductive function in females. It is expressed in the somatic cell population of the gonad (granulosa cells) which forms the follicles of the ovary, the structures responsible for embedding and nurturing the oocytes during their development. FOXL2 directly regulate the aromatase that synthesizes estrogens CYP19A1, thus promoting female differentiation, as well as acting as a repressor of the male factors SOX9 and DMRT1.Expression is also found in the eyelids, pituitary gland and uterus. In the goat, frog and many fish species FOXL2 is a sex-determining gene which, when deleted, leads to female-to-male sex reversal.
2022-07-11 | PXD024439 | Pride
Project description:From fish to human, FOXL2 is considered one of the most conserved markers of ovarian granulosa cell identity. To determine if the sole expression of FOXL2 can determine ovarian differentiation, we created a mouse model that allows the conditional expression of FOXL2. Rosa26-CAG-LSL-Foxl2 mice were crossed to Sf1-Cre mice to induce the expression of FOXL2 in the SF1+ somatic cells of the fetal gonads.When FOXL2 was induced in the somatic cells of the undifferentiated testis, the Sertoli cells and consequently the other cell lineages composing the fetal gonads were feminized, resulting in a partial testis-to-ovary sex reversal We created a mouse genetic model that conditionaly express FOXL2 in the somatic cells of the fetal gonads. All embryos used in this study resulted from the crossing between Rosa26-CAG-LSL-Foxl2+/f and Sf1-cre+/Tg mice. XX and XY fetal gonads were collected at embryonic day E14.5. This microarray analysis led to the identification of the genes misregulated upon ectopic induction of FOXL2 in the fetal testis, and showed that FOXL2 expression resulted in feminization of both somatic and germ cells of the fetal gonad.
2019-03-25 | GSE78774 | GEO
Project description:FOXL2 is a transcription factor essential for female fertility, expressed in somatic cells of the ovary, notably granulosa cells. In the mouse, Foxl2 deletion leads to partial sex reversal postnatally. However, deletion of the gene in 8-week-old females leads to granulosa to Sertoli cell transdifferentiation. We hypothesised that different outcomes of Foxl2 deletion in embryonic versus adult ovary may depend on a different role played across ovarian development. Therefore, we characterised the dynamics of gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes in purified murine granulosa cells across key developmental stages (E14.5, 1 and 8 weeks). We then performed genome-wide identification of FOXL2 target genes and on-chromatin interacting partners by ChIP-SICAP. We found that FOXL2 regulates more genes at postnatal stages, through the interaction with factors regulating primordial follicle activation (PFA), such as NR5A2, and others regulating steroidogenesis including AR and ESR2. As a proof of principle experiment, we chose one FOXL2 interactor, Ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7) and showed that deletion of this gene in granulosa cells leads to a blockage of PFA, impaired ovary development and sterility. Our study constitutes a comprehensive resource for exploration of the molecular mechanisms of ovarian development and causes of female infertility.
2024-03-25 | PXD043951 | Pride
Project description:Transcription factors related to the insect sex determination gene Doublesex (DMRT proteins) control sex determination and/or sexual differentiation in diverse metazoans. They also are implicated in transitions between sex-determining mechanisms during vertebrate evolution. In mice Dmrt1 is required for male gonadal differentiation in somatic cells and germ cells. DMRT1 also maintains male gonadal sex: its loss, even in adults, can trigger sexual fate reprogramming in which male Sertoli cells transdifferentiate into their female equivalents - granulosa cells - and testicular tissue reorganizes to a more ovarian morphology. Here we use a conditional Dmrt1 transgene to show that Dmrt1 is not only necessary but also sufficient to specify male cell identity in the mouse gonad. DMRT1 expression in the ovary silenced the female sex-maintenance gene Foxl2 and reprogrammed juvenile and adult granulosa cells into Sertoli-like cells, triggering formation of structures resembling male seminiferous tubules. DMRT1 can silence Foxl2 even in the absence of the testis-determining genes Sox8 and Sox9. mRNA profiling found that DMRT1 activates many testicular genes and downregulates ovarian genes and single cell RNA-seq in transdifferentiating cells identified dynamically expressed candidate mediators of this process. Strongly upregulated genes were highly enriched on chromosome X, consistent with sexually antagonistic functions. This study provides an in vivo example of single gene reprogramming of cell sexual identity. Our findings suggest a reconsideration of mechanisms involved in human disorders of sexual development (DSD) and empirically support evolutionary models where loss or gain of Dmrt1 function promotes establishment of new vertebrate sex determination systems. RNA-Seq (3 conditions, 2 replicates per condition) and Single Cell RNA-Seq (68 individual cells and 1 bulk cell sample)
2015-02-27 | E-GEOD-64960 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Transcription factors related to the insect sex determination gene Doublesex (DMRT proteins) control sex determination and/or sexual differentiation in diverse metazoans. They also are implicated in transitions between sex-determining mechanisms during vertebrate evolution. In mice Dmrt1 is required for male gonadal differentiation in somatic cells and germ cells. DMRT1 also maintains male gonadal sex: its loss, even in adults, can trigger sexual fate reprogramming in which male Sertoli cells transdifferentiate into their female equivalents - granulosa cells - and testicular tissue reorganizes to a more ovarian morphology. Here we use a conditional Dmrt1 transgene to show that Dmrt1 is not only necessary but also sufficient to specify male cell identity in the mouse gonad. DMRT1 expression in the ovary silenced the female sex-maintenance gene Foxl2 and reprogrammed juvenile and adult granulosa cells into Sertoli-like cells, triggering formation of structures resembling male seminiferous tubules. DMRT1 can silence Foxl2 even in the absence of the testis-determining genes Sox8 and Sox9. mRNA profiling found that DMRT1 activates many testicular genes and downregulates ovarian genes and single cell RNA-seq in transdifferentiating cells identified dynamically expressed candidate mediators of this process. Strongly upregulated genes were highly enriched on chromosome X, consistent with sexually antagonistic functions. This study provides an in vivo example of single gene reprogramming of cell sexual identity. Our findings suggest a reconsideration of mechanisms involved in human disorders of sexual development (DSD) and empirically support evolutionary models where loss or gain of Dmrt1 function promotes establishment of new vertebrate sex determination systems.
2015-02-27 | GSE64960 | GEO
Project description:Retinoic acid (RA) is a potent inducer of cell differentiation and plays an essential role in sex-specific germ cell development in the mammalian gonad. RA is essential for male gametogenesis and hence fertility. However, RA can also disrupt sexual cell fate in somatic cells of the testis, promoting transdifferentiation of male Sertoli cells to female granulosa-like cells when the male sexual regulator Dmrt1 is absent. The feminizing ability of RA in the somatic testis suggests that RA might normally play a role in somatic cell differentiation or cell fate maintenance in the ovary. To test for this possibility we disrupted RA signaling in somatic cells of the early fetal ovary using three genetic strategies and one pharmaceutical approach. We found that deleting all three RA receptors (RARs) in the XX somatic gonad at the time of sex determination did not significantly affect ovarian differentiation, follicle development, or female fertility. Transcriptome analysis of adult triple mutant ovaries revealed remarkably little effect on gene expression in the absence of somatic RAR function. Likewise, deletion of three RA synthesis enzymes (Aldha1-3) at the time of sex determination did not masculinize the ovary. A dominant-negative RAR transgene altered granulosa cell proliferation, likely due to interference with a non-RA signaling pathway, but did not affect granulosa cell specification or fertility. Finally, culture of fetal XX gonads with an RAR antagonist blocked germ cell meiotic initiation but did not disrupt sex-biased gene expression. We conclude that RA signaling, although crucial in the ovary for meiotic initiation, is not required for granulosa cell specification, differentiation, or reproductive function.
2017-03-16 | GSE94802 | GEO
Project description:Sex determination in mammals hinges on a cell fate decision in the fetal bipotential gonad between male Sertoli cells and female granulosa cells. While this decision normally is permanent, loss of key cell fate regulators such as the transcription factors Dmrt1 and Foxl2 can cause postnatal transdifferentiation from Sertoli to granulosa-like or vice versa. Here we examine the mechanism of transdifferentiation in mice carrying either a null mutation of Dmrt1 or a point mutation, R111G, that alters the DNA binding motif and causes human XY gonadal dysgenesis and sex reversal. We first define genes misexpressed during transdifferentiation and then show that female transcriptional regulators driving transdifferentiation in the mutant XY gonad (ESR2, LRH1, FOXL2) bind chromatin sites related to those normally bound in the XX ovary. We then define gene expression changes at the onset of transdifferentiation and abnormal chromatin compartments that may help destabilize cell fate and initiate transdifferentiation. We model the R111G mutation in mice and show that it causes dominant gonadal dysgenesis, analogous to its human phenotype but less severe. We show that R111G partially feminizes the testicular transcriptome and causes dominant disruption of DMRT1 binding specificity in vivo. These data help illuminate how transdifferentiation occurs when sexual cell fate maintenance is disrupted and identify chromatin sites and transcripts that may play key roles in the transdifferentiation process.
2022-09-30 | GSE208106 | GEO
Project description:FOXL2 is a transcription factor essential for female fertility, expressed in somatic cells of the ovary, notably granulosa cells. In the mouse, Foxl2 deletion leads to partial sex reversal postnatally, with mutants developing dysgenic ovaries devoid of oocytes. However, deletion of the gene in 8-week-old females leads to granulosa to Sertoli cell transdifferentiation and gonadal sex reversal. We hypothesise that different outcomes of Foxl2 deletion in embryonic versus adult ovary may depend on a different role played by FOXL2 across ovarian development. Therefore, in this study, we take a multi-omics approach to characterise the dynamics of gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes in purified murine granulosa cells across key developmental stages (E14.5, 1 and 8 weeks). We coupled these analyses with genome wide identification of FOXL2 target genes and on-chromatin interacting partners by ChIP-SICAP to reconstruct the gene regulatory networks underpinned by this essential transcription factor and to discover novel players. We found that, in the embryonic ovary, FOXL2 interacts with factors important for early stages of gonadal development, such as GATA4 and WT1, whilst postnatally it interacts with factors regulating primordial follicle activation, such as NR5A2, and with factors regulating steroidogenesis including AR and ESR2. Integration of chromatin landscape dynamics with gene expression changes and FOXL2 binding sites analysis revealed that its critical role in ovarian cell fate maintenance goes beyond repression of the Sertoli-specific gene Sox9. Our chromatome analysis revealed also that FOXL2 interacts with several proteins involved in chromatin remodelling, DNA repair, splicing and gene repression. We identified a FOXL2 interactor with a role in primordial follicle activation, Ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7). We showed that conditional deletion of this gene in granulosa cells leads to a blockage of primordial follicle activation, impairs ovary development and leads to complete sterility. In summary, in this study we identified target genes dynamically regulated by FOXL2 across ovarian development including known and newly identified FOXL2 targets with a role in embryonic ovarian development and folliculogenesis, as well as cofactors that point towards additional roles played by FOXL2 besides transcriptional regulation. This work constitutes a comprehensive resource for exploration of the molecular mechanisms of ovarian development and causes of female infertility.
2024-03-24 | GSE236860 | GEO
Project description:FOXL2 is a transcription factor essential for female fertility, expressed in somatic cells of the ovary, notably granulosa cells. In the mouse, Foxl2 deletion leads to partial sex reversal postnatally, with mutants developing dysgenic ovaries devoid of oocytes. However, deletion of the gene in 8-week-old females leads to granulosa to Sertoli cell transdifferentiation and gonadal sex reversal. We hypothesise that different outcomes of Foxl2 deletion in embryonic versus adult ovary may depend on a different role played by FOXL2 across ovarian development. Therefore, in this study, we take a multi-omics approach to characterise the dynamics of gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes in purified murine granulosa cells across key developmental stages (E14.5, 1 and 8 weeks). We coupled these analyses with genome wide identification of FOXL2 target genes and on-chromatin interacting partners by ChIP-SICAP to reconstruct the gene regulatory networks underpinned by this essential transcription factor and to discover novel players. We found that, in the embryonic ovary, FOXL2 interacts with factors important for early stages of gonadal development, such as GATA4 and WT1, whilst postnatally it interacts with factors regulating primordial follicle activation, such as NR5A2, and with factors regulating steroidogenesis including AR and ESR2. Integration of chromatin landscape dynamics with gene expression changes and FOXL2 binding sites analysis revealed that its critical role in ovarian cell fate maintenance goes beyond repression of the Sertoli-specific gene Sox9. Our chromatome analysis revealed also that FOXL2 interacts with several proteins involved in chromatin remodelling, DNA repair, splicing and gene repression. We identified a FOXL2 interactor with a role in primordial follicle activation, Ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7). We showed that conditional deletion of this gene in granulosa cells leads to a blockage of primordial follicle activation, impairs ovary development and leads to complete sterility. In summary, in this study we identified target genes dynamically regulated by FOXL2 across ovarian development including known and newly identified FOXL2 targets with a role in embryonic ovarian development and folliculogenesis, as well as cofactors that point towards additional roles played by FOXL2 besides transcriptional regulation. This work constitutes a comprehensive resource for exploration of the molecular mechanisms of ovarian development and causes of female infertility.
2024-03-24 | GSE236859 | GEO
Project description:FOXL2 is a transcription factor essential for female fertility, expressed in somatic cells of the ovary, notably granulosa cells. In the mouse, Foxl2 deletion leads to partial sex reversal postnatally, with mutants developing dysgenic ovaries devoid of oocytes. However, deletion of the gene in 8-week-old females leads to granulosa to Sertoli cell transdifferentiation and gonadal sex reversal. We hypothesise that different outcomes of Foxl2 deletion in embryonic versus adult ovary may depend on a different role played by FOXL2 across ovarian development. Therefore, in this study, we take a multi-omics approach to characterise the dynamics of gene expression and chromatin accessibility changes in purified murine granulosa cells across key developmental stages (E14.5, 1 and 8 weeks). We coupled these analyses with genome wide identification of FOXL2 target genes and on-chromatin interacting partners by ChIP-SICAP to reconstruct the gene regulatory networks underpinned by this essential transcription factor and to discover novel players. We found that, in the embryonic ovary, FOXL2 interacts with factors important for early stages of gonadal development, such as GATA4 and WT1, whilst postnatally it interacts with factors regulating primordial follicle activation, such as NR5A2, and with factors regulating steroidogenesis including AR and ESR2. Integration of chromatin landscape dynamics with gene expression changes and FOXL2 binding sites analysis revealed that its critical role in ovarian cell fate maintenance goes beyond repression of the Sertoli-specific gene Sox9. Our chromatome analysis revealed also that FOXL2 interacts with several proteins involved in chromatin remodelling, DNA repair, splicing and gene repression. We identified a FOXL2 interactor with a role in primordial follicle activation, Ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7). We showed that conditional deletion of this gene in granulosa cells leads to a blockage of primordial follicle activation, impairs ovary development and leads to complete sterility. In summary, in this study we identified target genes dynamically regulated by FOXL2 across ovarian development including known and newly identified FOXL2 targets with a role in embryonic ovarian development and folliculogenesis, as well as cofactors that point towards additional roles played by FOXL2 besides transcriptional regulation. This work constitutes a comprehensive resource for exploration of the molecular mechanisms of ovarian development and causes of female infertility.
2024-03-24 | GSE236785 | GEO