In the present work, we described the expression and activity of extracellular signal-related kinases 1-2 (ERK1-2) in mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) from 8.5-14.5 days post coitum (dpc) and investigated whether these kinases play a role in regulating the various processes of PGC development. Using immunofluorescence and immunoblotting to detect the active phosphorylated form of ERK1-2 (p-ERK1-2), we found that the kinases were present in most proliferating 8.5-10.5 dpc PGCs, low in 11.5 dpc PGCs, and progressively increasing between 12.5-14.5 dpc both in female and male PGCs. In vitro culture experiments showed that inhibiting activation of ERK1-2 with the MEK-specific inhibitor U0126 significantly reduced the growth of 8.5 dpc PGCs in culture but had little effect on 11.5-12.5 dpc PGCs. Moreover, we found that the inhibitor did not affect the adhesion of 11.5 dpc PGCs, but it significantly reduced their motility features onto a cell monolayer. Further, while the ability of female PGCs to begin meiosis was not significantly affected by U0126, their progression through meiotic prophase I was slowed down. Notably, the activity of ERK1-2 was necessary for maintaining the correct expression of oocyte-specific genes crucial for germ cells survival and the formation of primordial follicles.
Keywords: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs); Gene expression; Meiosis; Oogenesis; Primordial germ cells.