Elavl1 is dispensable for appendicular skeletal development

Abstract

Elavl1/HuR is a RNA binding protein implicated in multiple developmental processes with pleiotropic roles in RNA life cycle. Loss of Elavl1 is incompatible with life with early embryonic loss of Elavl1 in epiblast cells being lethal with defects in placental branching and embryonic tissue growth. Postnatal global deletion of Elavl1/HuR results in lethality with atrophy in multiple tissues mainly due to loss of progenitor cells. However, roles of Elavl1 specifically during embryonic limb development is not well understood. Here we report that deletion of Elavl1 in limb bud mesenchyme in mouse did not reveal any abnormalities during embryonic development with normal development in pre- and postnatal limb skeleton. Analyses of skeletal patterning, morphogenesis and skeletal maturation including skeletal elements in stylopod, zeugopod and autopod during development did not reveal any significant differences between long bones from control and Elavl1 conditional knockout animals. Our study indicates differential dependency and susceptibility to loss of Elavl1 in different stem cell lineages with its functions being dispensable during limb development.