Role of mouse Wdr13 in placental growth; a genetic evidence for lifetime body weight determination by placenta during development

Placental development is essential for implantation and growth of foetus in the uterus of eutherian mammals. Numerous growth factors are responsible for placental development and cell lineage differentiation. Gene knockout mice have shown role of various genes in the placenta. Here using Wdr13 knockout mice, we show that this gene is important for proper placental development. Wdr13, a X-linked gene, expresses in multiple trophoblast cell types of placenta and the mutant placenta had reduced size after 17.5 dpc due to reduction of junctional zone (JZ) and labyrinth zone (LZ). We observed reduction in levels of angiopoietin-2 and cd44 mRNA in Wdr13 mutant placenta as compared to that in the wild type. Our findings show that Wdr13 is required for normal placental development and cell differentiation. Wdr13 heterozygous female placenta when the mutant allele was of maternal origin showed similar defects as those in case of Wdr13 null placenta. Using two types of heterozygous females carrying either maternally and paternally derived mutant Wdr13 allele we provide genetic evidence that development of placenta determines body weight of mice for the entire life.