Developmental Patterns of mST3GaIV mRNA Expression in the Mouse: In Situ Hybridization using DIG-labeled RNA Probes

mST3GaIV synthesizes ganglioside GM3, the precursor for simple and complex a- and b- series gangliosides, and the expression and regulation of mST3GaIV (CMP-NeuAc: lactosylceramide $\alpha$2,3-sialyltransferase) activity is central to the production of almost all gangliosides, a class of glycosphingolipids implicated in variety of cellular processes such as transmembrane signaling, synaptic transmission, specialized membrane domain formation and cell-cell interactions. To understand the developmental expression of mST3GaIV in mice, we investigated the spatial and temporal expression of mST3GaIV mRNA during the mouse embryogenesis [embryonic (E) days; 19, E11, E13, E15] by in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labeled RNA probes. All tissues from 19 and E11 were positive for mST3GaIV mRNA. On E13, mST3GaIV mRNA was expressed in various neural and non-neural tissues. In contrast to these, on E15, the telencephalon and liver produced a strong expression of mST3GaIV which was a quite similar to that of E13. In this stage, mST3GaIV mRNA was also expressed in some non-neural tissues. These data indicate that mST3GaIV is differently expressed at developmental stages of embryo, and this may be importantly related with regulation of organogenesis in mice.