Expression pattern of parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone related peptide receptor mRNA in mouse postimplantation embryos indicates involvement in multiple developmental processes.

In this paper we describe the cloning of the mouse Parathyroid Hormone/Parathyroid Hormone related Peptide Receptor (PTH/PTHrPR) cDNA and expression of its mRNA during mouse postimplantation development from day 5.5 until day 15.5 post coitum (p.c.). In support of a model from previous studies, in which parietal endoderm differentiation is regulated by the interaction of the PTH/PTHrPR and Parathyroid Hormone related Peptide (PTHrP), high levels of PTH/PTHrPR mRNA levels were detected in developing parietal endoderm from day 5.5 p.c. and onwards. In the embryo proper, PTH/PTHrPR mRNA expression was mainly detected at sites of epithelium/mesenchyme interactions, starting at day 9.5 p.c. in the epithelium of the intestine and later in the mesenchyme of the lung, the epithelium of meso- and metanephric tubuli, the dermis and at all sites where bone formation takes place. The complexity of the PTH/PTHrPR expression pattern suggests tight developmental regulation and indicates multiple roles in embryogenesis for the receptor and its ligands, not only in extraembryonic tissue but also in the formation of various organs.