Figure 1.

Rbpj is expressed in a spatiotemporal manner in the uterus and is critical for normal pregnancy. (A) In situ hybridization showing the spatiotemporal expression of Rbpj in WT uteri on days 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 of pregnancy. Bl, blastocyst; Le, luminal epithelium; Pdz, primary decidual zone; Sdz, secondary decidual zone; S, stroma. (B) Real-time quantitative PCR analysis of uterine Rbpj mRNA in Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d mice. Data shown represent the mean ± SEM. ^***P < 0.01. (C) RT-PCR analysis of Rbpj expression in the spleen, ovary and uterine stromal cells of Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d mice. Rbpj mRNA expression was efficiently deleted in the uteri of the Rbpj^d/d mice but still abundant in the spleen and ovary. (D) Immunoblotting analysis of Rbpj protein in the ovaries and uteri on day 4 of pregnancy dissected from Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d mice. (E) Pregnancy outcomes in Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d mice. (F) Average litter sizes in Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d mice. ^**P < 0.01. (G) Morphologically normal implantation in Rbpj^d/d mice compared with Rbpj^f/f mice as determined by blue dye injection on day 5. The average number of implantation sites is comparable between the Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d mice. IS, implantation site; NS, not significant. (H) The weight of the implantation sites and representative uteri from Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d females on day 8 of implantation. IS, implantation site; NS, not significant. (I) Resorption rate and representative uteri from Rbpj^f/f and Rbpj^d/d females on day 12. The black arrowheads denote the resorption sites. In I, the numbers within bars indicate the number of resorption events divided by the total number of implantation sites. In F-H, the numbers within bars indicate number of females examined for each group.