Cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) is a major provider of arachidonic acid (AA) for the cyclooxygenase (COX) system for the biosynthesis of prostaglandins (PGs). Female mice with the null mutation for Pla2g4a (cPLA2α) produce small litters and often exhibit pregnancy failures, although the cause(s) of these defects remains elusive. We show that the initiation of implantation is temporarily deferred in Pla2g4a–/– mice, shifting the normal ‘window’ of implantation and leading to retarded feto-placental development without apparent defects in decidual growth. Furthermore, cPLA2α deficiency results in aberrant uterine spacing of embryos. The deferred implantation and deranged gestational development in Pla2g4a–/– mice were significantly improved by exogenous PG administration. The results provide evidence that cPLA2α-derived AA is important for PG synthesis required for on-time implantation. This study in Pla2g4a–/– mice, together with the results of differential blastocyst transfers in wild-type mice provides the first evidence for a novel concept that a short delay in the initial attachment reaction creates a ripple effect propagating developmental anomalies during the subsequent course of pregnancy.
About us
Our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 this year. Read about the history of the Company and find out what Sarah Bray, our Chair of the Board of Directors, has to say.
Biologists @ 100 - join us in Liverpool in March 2025
We are excited to invite you to a unique scientific conference, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Company of Biologists, and bringing together our different communities. The conference will incorporate the Spring Meetings of the BSCB and the BSDB, the JEB Symposium Sensory Perception in a Changing World and a DMM programme on antimicrobial resistance. Find out more and register by 28 February 2025 to join us in March 2025 in Liverpool, UK.
Call for papers – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Meritxell Huch (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany) and Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University and Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA), working alongside our team of academic Editors. Submit your articles by 15 May 2025.
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology
In this Perspective, B. Duygu Özpolat and colleagues survey researchers on their views on what it takes to infer mechanism in developmental biology. They examine what factors shape our idea of what we mean by ‘mechanism’ and suggest a path forward that embraces a broad outlook on the diversity of studies that advance knowledge in our field.
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