Neonatal Lethality of LGR5 Null Mice Is Associated with Ankyloglossia and Gastrointestinal Distension

Abstract

The physiological role of an orphan G protein-coupled receptor, LGR5, was investigated by targeted deletion of this seven-transmembrane protein containing a large N-terminal extracellular domain with leucine-rich repeats. LGR5 null mice exhibited 100% neonatal lethality characterized by gastrointestinal tract dilation with air and an absence of milk in the stomach. Gross and histological examination revealed fusion of the tongue to the floor of oral cavity in the mutant newborns and immunostaining of LGR5 expression in the epithelium of the tongue and in the mandible of the wild-type embryos. The observed ankyloglossia phenotype provides a model for understanding the genetic basis of this craniofacial defect in humans and an opportunity to elucidate the physiological role of the LGR5 signaling system during embryonic development.

This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grant HD23273 to A.J.W.H.

We gratefully acknowledge Pauline L. Chu for histology processing and C. Spencer for editorial assistance. We thank Lexicon Genetics, Inc. (The Woodlands, Tex.), for providing the mutant animals and the personnel of the Research Animal Facility (Stanford University School of Medicine) for care and monitoring of animals.