Fatty acid amide hydrolase deficiency limits early pregnancy events
J. Clin. Invest. Haibin Wang, et al. 116:2122 doi:10.1172/JCI28621 [Go to this article.]

Figure 5
Expression of Cdx2, Nanog, and Oct3/4 is aberrant in Faah-deficient morulae (A) and early (B) and late blastocysts (C). Confocal immunofluorescence shows Cdx2 expression (pink) in outer cells of morulae and in Tr cells of wild-type blastocysts. In contrast, Nanog (red) was clearly detected in a subset of inner cells of morulae and primarily in the ICM of blastocysts. While Oct3/4 (green) was detected in all cells of wild-type morulae (D3.5) and early blastocysts (D4), the expression was downregulated in Tr cells, with sustained expression in ICM cells in late expanded blastocysts (D4.25). In contrast, the expression patterns of Cdx2, Nanog, and Oct3/4 in Faah^–/– embryos were aberrant. Unlike in wild-type embryos, Cdx2 expression was barely detected in Faah^–/– morulae, but the expression in asynchronously developing mutant morulae and blastocysts on day 4 morning was comparable to that of wild-type embryos. While the expression of Nanog and Oct3/4 was observed in most cells in Faah^–/– morulae, it was selectively downregulated in ICM cells, with sustained higher levels in Tr cells in mutant blastocysts in a stage-dependent manner (scale bar: 25 μm).