Human synovial sarcoma proto-oncogene Syt is essential for early embryonic development through the regulation of cell migration

Lab Invest. 2009 Jun;89(6):645-56. doi: 10.1038/labinvest.2009.25. Epub 2009 Mar 30.

Abstract

SYT-SSX protein, resulted from chromosomal translocation, causes synovial sarcoma, which is a malignant tumor accounting for 10% of soft tissue sarcoma. However, biological functions of SYT (synovial sarcoma translocation), also known as SS18, are largely unclear, whereas it has been proven that Syt-null mice die at early stages of embryonic development. Here, we generated Syt-deficient mice and confirmed the reported phenotypes, including growth retardation, open neural tube and haplo-insufficient lethality, and therefore, there is no doubt that Syt is essential for embryonic development. However, placental defects, described in the earlier report, were rarely seen in our mice and we frequently observed cardiac defect in Syt-deficient mice. As the mechanisms responsible for embryonic lethality seem to be complicate, we performed additional experiments. By using primary cultured embryonic fibroblasts, we showed that Syt(-/-) MEFs deregulate actin organization and suppressed cell migration. These observations suggest that Syt may contribute to the signaling pathway important for various cellular functions in vivo and in vitro, and we propose that Syt-deficient MEFs would be a powerful means to understand the biological roles of SYT in vitro.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actins / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Cell Movement*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Embryo Loss
  • Embryo, Mammalian / cytology
  • Embryonic Development
  • Female
  • Fibroblasts / physiology
  • Heart Defects, Congenital / genetics
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Neural Tube / abnormalities
  • Placenta / abnormalities
  • Placenta / metabolism
  • Pregnancy
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / physiology*
  • Repressor Proteins / genetics
  • Repressor Proteins / physiology*
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Actins
  • MAS1 protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Mas
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Ss18 protein, mouse