JBC Papers in Press. Published on August 14, 2003 as Manuscript M307228200
HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

Early embryonic lethality caused by targeted disruption of
the HMG-CoA reductase gene

Ken Ohashi, Jun-ichi Osuga, Ryuichi Tozawa, Tetsuya Kitamine, Hiroaki Yagyu1,
Motohiro Sekiya, Sachiko Tomita, Hiroaki Okazaki, Yoshiaki Tamura, Naoya Yahagi,
Yoko Iizuka, Kenji Harada, Takanari Gotoda2, Hitoshi Shimano3, Nobuhiro Yamada3,
Shun Ishibashi1

Department of Metabolic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo,
Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
1

Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Jichi

Medical School, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan
2

Diabetes Center, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan
3

Metabolism, Endocrinology and Atherosclerosis, Institute of Clinical Medicine,

University of Tsukuba, Ibaragi 305-8575, Japan

To whom correspondence should be addressed:
Shun Ishibashi, MD, Ph. D
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical
School, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Minamikawachi-machi, Kawachi-gun, Tochigi 329-0498,
JAPAN
Telephone: +81-285-58-7355, FAX: +81-285-40-6035, E-mail: ishibash@jichi.ac.jp
Running Title: HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice1
Copyright 2003 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

SUMMARY
The

endoplasmic

reticulum(ER)

enzyme3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl

coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, which converts HMG-CoA to mevalonate,catalyzes the rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis.

Since this mevalonate

pathway also produces several non-sterol isoprenoid compounds, the level of HMGCoA reductase activity may coordinate many cellular processes and functions.

We

used gene targeting to knock out the mouse HMG-CoA reductase gene.

Theheterozygous mutant mice (Hmgcr+/-) appeared normal in their development and grossanatomy and were fertile.

Although HMG-CoA reductase activities were reduced in

Hmgcr+/- embryonic fibroblasts, the enzyme activities and cholesterol biosynthesis
remained unaffected in the liver from Hmgcr+/- mice, suggesting that the haploidamount of Hmgcr gene is not rate-limiting in the hepatic cholesterol homeostasis.
Consistently, plasma lipoprotein profiles were similar between Hmgcr+/− andHmgcr+/+ mice.

In contrast, the embryos homozygous for the Hmgcr mutant allele

were recovered at the blastocyst stage, but not at E8.5, indicating that HMG-CoA
reductase is crucial for early development of the mouse embryos.

The lethal

phenotype was not completely rescued by supplementing the dams with mevalonate.
Although it has been postulated that a second, peroxisome-specific HMG-CoA
reductase could substitute for the ER reductase in vitro, we speculate that the putative
peroxisomal reductase gene, if existed, does not fully compensate for the lack of the ER
enzyme at least in embryogenesis.

2

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in MiceINTRODUCTION
The mevalonate pathway produces isoprenoids that are essential for diverse
cellular functions, ranging from cholesterol synthesis to growth control.

The enzyme

3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA)1 reductase (EC 1.1.1.34), whichcatalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate, is the rate-limiting enzyme in themevalonate pathway (1).

Because of its major role in cholesterol biosynthesis, theregulation of HMG-CoA reductase has been intensely studied.

To ensure a steadymevalonate supply, the non-sterol and sterol end-products of mevalonate metabolism
exert feedback regulation on the activity of this enzyme through multivalentmechanisms, including inhibition of transcription of the HMG-CoA reductase mRNA,
blocking of translation, and acceleration of protein degradation, thus regulating theamount of reductase protein over a several hundred-fold range (reviewed in Ref.1-3).
Inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, statins, are potent hypocholesterolemic
agents which exhibit some cholesterol-independent, or so-called pleiotropic, effects,
which involve improving or restoring endothelial function, enhancing the stability ofatherosclerotic plaque, decreasing oxidative stress and vascular inflammation (4).
Benefits of statins also extend beyond cardiovascular diseases, including a reduction in
the risk of dementia (5), Alzheimer's disease (6), ischemic stroke (7), and osteoporosis(8,9).

Most of these pleiotropic effects of statins are shown to be mediated by theirability to block the synthesis of non-sterol isoprenoid intermediates.

However, itremains to be unraveled how the mevalonate pathway is affected in those disease
processes, particularly in cells involved in atherogenesis.

In addition, some of thestatins' collateral effects have been found to be independent of HMG-CoA reductase(10-12).
In mammals, only one gene has been found to encode HMG-CoA reductase

3

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

(13).

In yeast, fungi, and plants, on the other hand, more than one gene encode the

enzyme.

Yeast, for example, contains two functional genes for HMG-CoA reductase,

HMG-CoA reductase 1 (HMG1) and HMG2.

HMG1 and HMG2 are differently

expressed and when HMG1 is deleted, HMG2 can replace the function of HMG1 (14).
Given the major role of HMG-CoA reductase in the mevalonate pathway, it is tempting
to hypothesize that mammalian cells also have a second gene for the enzyme.

In fact,

although the classical form of the enzyme is a transmembrane-protein anchored to theendoplasmic reticulum (ER), recent studies using a mutant cell line which lacks the ER
isoform of the enzyme indicate the existence of a second isoform of the reductase
exclusively localized in peroxisomes and that the peroxisomal activity might be due to asecond gene (15-17).
We have previously shown that the targeted disruption of the gene for squalene
synthase, the first committed enzyme of sterol synthesis, results in embryonic death atmidgestation with growth retardation and defective neural tube closure (18).

In these

mice, the non-sterol pathways are presumed to be retained, while de novo cholesterolsynthesis is blocked.

To further determine the physiological consequences of

perturbation of the mevalonate pathway and gain some insights into a putative second
gene for HMG-CoA reductase, we have generated and characterized mice defective inmevalonate synthesis by disrupting the gene for HMG-CoA reductase.

4

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Generation of HMG-CoA Reductase Knockout Mice.

A replacement-typetargeting vector was constructed; the 0.8-kb short arm spanning exon 14 to 15, and the
10-kb long arm fragment encompassing exon 2 through 12 were generated bypolymerase chain reaction (PCR) using genomic DNA from the 129/Sv mouse as
template.

Primers

used

were

as

CCGCTCGAGAAAGGAGGCCTTTGATAGCACCAGCA-3’

follows:
(exon

14)

5’and

5’-

CCGCTCGAGCTTAGAGATCATGTTCATGCCCATGG-3’ (exon 15) for the short
arm and 5’-GCGGCCGCTTTGTGGCCTCCCATCCCTGGGAAGTTATTGT-3’ (exon2) and 5’-GCGGCCGCCTCTGCATCGCTAAGGAACTTTGCACCTTTCT-3’(exon
12) for the long arm. Integrity of the amplified fragments was verified by Southernblot analysis and partial sequencing. After subcloning into pCR2.1 vector (Invitrogen,
Carlsbad, CA), the fragments were cut out and inserted into the XhoI and NotI sites,
respectively, of the pPolII-short-neo-bpA-HSVTK as described previously (19).

Thus,

a 1.2-kb region spanning the exon 12 to 14 of the HMG-CoA reductase gene was
replaced by a neomycin-resistant cassette, which was expected to abolish translation of
the entire carboxyl half of the protein containing the catalytic activity (20).

Afterlinearization by digestion with SalI, the vector was electroporated into JH1 embryonicstem cells (A gift from Dr. J. Herz at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
at Dallas). Targeted clones, which had been selected in the presence of G418 and 1-(2deoxy, 2-fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-iodouracil, were identified by PCR using thefollowing primers: primer 1, 5'-GATTGGGAAGACAATAGCAGGCATGC-3' andprimer 2, 5'-GCTGGGTACGGTAGCACAGTTATGGT-3' (Fig. 1).

Homologous

recombination was verified by Southern blot analysis after EcoRI digestion using a 3'flanking probe (Fig. 1).

Targeted embryonic stem cell clones were injected into the5HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

C57BL/6J blastocysts yielding three lines of chimeric mice, which transmitted thedisrupted allele through the germ line.
All experiments reported here were performed with 129/Sv-C57BL/6J hybrid
descendants (F1 and subsequent generations) of these animals consuming a normal chowdiet (MF, Oriental Yeast, Tokyo, Japan).

To avoid differences resulting from diurnalchanges in the reductase activity (21,22), mice were maintained on a strict 12-h lightdark cycle.

One week prior to the measurement of reductase activities and sterolsynthesis rates, mice were caged individually to minimize nongenetic variability (21).
Analysis of Embryos.
heterozygous intercrosses.

Embryos were harvested from timed matings ofGenotyping of embryos was performed by Southernblotting of DNA isolated from fetal membranes or whole embryos.

For genotyping of

blastocysts, female heterozygote animals were superovulated with pregnant mare serumand human chorionic gonadotropin and mated to heterozygote males.

Blastocysts

were flushed from uteri at 3.5 days post coitum (E3.5), then lysed individually as
described (23) and subjected to PCR analysis.

Sense primers for mutant and wild-typeallele were the primer 1 and primer 3, 5'-AGTCCCATAATCCTCTGCTTAGCTT-3',
respectively. Each allele was amplified separately with a common antisense primer,
primer 4, 5'-CTACATTACCCTAAGCAGGCAATGT-3' (Fig. 2A) for 40 cycles at 94℃
for 30 s, 60℃ for 30 s, and 72℃ for 2 min.

PCR products for each blastocyst were

subjected to 2%-agarose gel electrophoresis followed by Southern blotting with aninternal primer.

Control PCR experiments with limiting dilutions of Hmgcr+/- tailgenomic DNA template demonstrated that the sensitivities for detecting mutant or wildtype allele were comparable.
Mevalonate

Supplementation.

To testwhether

supplementationofmevalonate to pregnant females could rescue the homozygous embryos, D, L-mevalonic6

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Miceacid lactone (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) was infused via a miniosmotic pump (ALZET
model 2004 osmotic pump, ALZA, Palo Alto, CA), which was implanted
subcutaneously in female heterozygous mice. About one week after surgery, the mice
were subjected to timed matings with heterozygous males.

The pumps are designed torelease the content constantly for 4 weeks, long enough to cover the entire pregnancy
period. In a pilot experiment, plasma concentration of mevalonate rose from 25-35
ng/ml in non-treated females to 60,000-70,000 ng/ml in infused animals.
Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts.

Primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs)

were prepared from 14.5-day-old embryos and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle
medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS).
within three passages.
subconfluence.

MEFs were used

All experiments were done when the cells reached

Each monolayer was washed three times with phosphate-bufferedsaline, after which fresh medium containing either 10% (v/v) FCS or 5 mg/ml of human
lipoprotein-deficient serum (LPDS) with or without 100 nM simvastatin (Wako, Osaka,
Japan) were added.
analyses.

Cells were incubated for 6 h and subjected to the following

Simvastatin was activated by alkaline hydrolysis prior to use.

HMG-CoA Reductase Activity Assay.

For preparation of liver microsomes,

animals were sacrificed during the early dark cycle, at a time when HMG-CoA
reductase activity was at its peak of diurnal rhythm (21).

Livers were homogenized ina buffer containing 15 mM nicotinamide, 2 mM MgCl2, and 100 mM potassium
phosphate, pH 7.4, and centrifuged at 10,000 g for 20 min at 4℃.

The supernatants

were centrifuged at 105,000 g for 1 h at 4℃, and the resultant pellets, a microsome
fraction, were washed, resuspended in the same buffer, and stored in aliquots at -80℃.
HMG-CoA reductase activities were measured essentially as described (24).

Briefly,

the microsome fractions (~50 µg) were incubated in 20 µl of a buffer containing 110

7HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in MiceµM D, L-[3-14C] HMG-CoA (4.5 µCi/µmol), 5 mM NADPH, 10 mM EDTA, 10 mM
dithiothreitol, and 100 mM potassium phosphate, pH 7.4, at 37 ℃ for 30 min.
Reaction was terminated by the addition of 10 µl of 2 N HCl and incubated for another30 min at 37℃ to lactonize the mevalonate formed. The [14C]mevalonate was isolatedby thin-layer chromatography and counted using [3H]mevalonate as an internal standard.
For MEFs, cellular extracts were prepared as described (25).

Extracts ( ~50 µg of

protein) were incubated in 50 µl of a buffer containing 30 µM D, L-[3-14C] HMG-CoA(20 µCi/µmol), 2.5 mM NADPH, 5 mM EDTA, 5 mM dithiothreitol, and 100 mM
potassium phosphate, pH 7.4, at 37℃ for 120 min, then processed as in the assay ofliver microsomes.

HMG-CoA reductase activity is expressed as picomoles of[14C]mevalonate formed per minute per mg of protein.
Measurement of Hepatic Cholesterol Synthesis.

Cholesterol synthesis in theliver was estimated in littermate 12-week-old male mice (n = 6) during the mid lightcycle as previously described (18,26).

In brief, animals were given food and water ad

libitum and injected intraperitoneally with [2-14C]acetate (37 kBq/kg body weight).
After 1 h, animals were euthanized and the liver was removed.

Two portions of theliver (200-300 mg/each) were saponified, and the digitonin-precipitable sterols wereisolated for the measurement of radioactivities.

The results were expressed as 14C

dpm/100 mg wet weight of liver/h.
Northern Blot Analysis.

Poly(A+) RNA was isolated and pooled from thelivers of five animals. 1.2 µg were subjected to 1%-agarose gel electrophoresis in thepresence of formalin.

The fractionated RNA was transferred to Hybond N (Amersham

Biosciences, Piscataway, NJ).

The filters were hybridized to 32P-labeled cDNA

probes: HMG-CoA reductase,

HMG-CoA synthase, mevalonate kinase, farnesyl

diphosphate synthase, squalene synthase, and LDL receptor.

8

As a control for loading

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Miceof mRNA, the same filter was hybridized with a GAPDH probe. Radioactivity wasquantified with a phosphorimager and the results were corrected for loading withGAPDH, and the fold-increase in each mRNA was calculated.
Other assays.

The content of cholesterol and triglycerides in plasma and liver

was measured as described (18,27).

Lipoproteins were fractionated by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as described (28).
Statistics.

Data are represented as mean +/- S.D.

used to compare the mean values between two groups.

9

The Student's t test was

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in MiceRESULTS
Embryonic Lethality of Hmgcr-/- Mice.

A replacement-type vector, whichallowed the deletion of exons 12-14 to abolish the translation of the entire carboxyl halfof the enzyme which is crucial for the catalytic activity (20,29), was constructed andused to generate heterozygous HMG-CoA reductase knockout mice (Hmgcr+/-). The
heterozygous mutant mice appeared normal in their development and gross anatomy,
and were fertile.

Intercrosses between heterozygotes yielded no viable offspring

homozygous for the mutant Hmgcr allele (Hmgcr-/-) (+/+:+/-:-/- = 52:106:0, p < 0.0001,
χ2 test) (Table I), indicating that Hmgcr expression is essential for the development andsurvival of embryos.

To determine the developmental stage where the embryos were

lethal, timed pregnancies of Hmgcr+/- matings were examined at E8.5 and 13.5 ofgestation. No Hmgcr-/- embryos were identified at these time points (Table I).

In

addition, no resorbed embryos were detected, suggesting that death of Hmgcr nullembryos occurs very early in the development, potentially prior to implantation. We
therefore analyzed preimplantation embryos.

Superovulated Hmgcr+/- females weremated with Hmgcr+/- males and blastocysts were isolated at E3.5.

Blastocysts were

genotyped directly by using PCR (Fig. 2). Among 74 phenotipically normal E3.5
blastocysts, 19 (26%) were found to be homozygote (Table I, Fig. 2B).

Therefore, atthe blastocyst stage, Hmgcr-/- embryos were viable and identified at the expected
Mendelian frequency. Hmgcr-/- blastocysts were morphologically indistinguishable
from Hmgcr+/- or +/+ embryos.
Attempt to Rescue the Homozygotes by Mevalonate Supplementation.

If

the embryonic lethality of the homozygotes results from the deficiency of mevalonate
and subsequent sterol and non-sterol products of the mevalonate pathway, it isconceivable that supplementation of mevalonate would reverse the phenotype.

10

To testHMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Micethis hypothesis, we supplemented the pregnant Hmgcr+/- mice with mevalonate using
an osmotic pump which was implanted subcutaneously.

Although this intervention

yielded a marked increase in the maternal plasma mevalonate level, no viable Hmgcr-/offspring was obtained among 31 mice from 5 litters (Table II).
To determine whether mevalonate supplementation allows null embryos todevelop beyond implantation, we studied embryos at E9.5-10.5.

Ten out of 49 (20%)

decidua were remarkably smaller than the others and contained embryos withappearance corresponding to those at E5.5-6.5 (the egg cylinder stage). The remaining
39 normal-sized decidua contained phenotypically normal embryos, none of which were
genotyped as homozygote (Table II).

Hmgcr+/+ female mice, which were

supplemented with mevalonate, mated to the same Hmgcr+/- males and examined at
E9.5, gave rise to 20 decidua with equivalent size which contained properly developed
concepti.

These results suggest that mevalonate supplementation of the pregnant

females enabled Hmgcr-/- embryos to implant but failed to support the development
after egg cylinder stage.
Analysis of Heterozygous Mice.

The Hmgcr mRNA levels in Hmgcr+/-mice were slightly reduced in the liver (Fig. 3). Expression levels of four genes in thecholesterol biosynthetic pathway, both upstream and downstream of HMG-CoA
reductase (encoding HMG-CoA synthase, mevalonate kinase, farnesyl diphosphatesynthase, and squalene synthase) showed a 50-70% increase in the liver ofheterozyogotes, while the expression of the gene for LDL receptor remained unaffected.
On the other hand, there was no significant change in the hepatic HMG-CoA reductase
activities.

Consistently, the amounts of [14C]acetate incorporated into digitonin-

precipitable sterols in the liver were not different between the wild-type andheterozygous mice (Table III).

11

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

Analysis of hepatic lipids demonstrated that both cholesterol and triglyceride
content were unchanged.

Plasma levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides did not

differ in the two groups of mice.

Plasma lipoprotein analysis by HPLC revealed no

discernible difference in the amount of each lipoprotein fraction (data not shown).
Hmgcr+/- MEFs.

To investigate the regulation of HMG-CoA reductase in

Hmgcr+/- mice further, we isolated MEFs from Hmgcr+/- and Hmgcr+/+ embryos.
Their growth in culture media was comparable.

Fig. 4 summarizes HMG-CoA

reductase activities of MEFs maintained for 6 h in the presence of either 10% FCS, or 5
mg/ml LPDS plus/minus 100 nM simvastatin, a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA
reductase, which induces upregulation of HMG-CoA reductase in vivo and in vitro. As
expected, the enzyme activity in MEFs was upregulated by the addition of LPDS, andfurther induced by concomitant treatment with simvastatin.

In each experimental

condition, the HMG-CoA reductase activity was reduced by approximately 50% in
Hmgcr+/- MEFs.

Increases in the enzymatic activities over the levels observed in thepresence of FCS were approximately two- and twelve-fold in the presence of LPDS andin the presence of LPDS plus simvastatin, respectively, and did not differ significantly
between heterozygous and wild-type MEFs.

12

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in MiceDISCUSSION
In the present study, we have demonstrated that HMG-CoA reductase isessential for the early development of the embryos.

Null embryos were recovered at

the blastocyst stage, but not at E8.5, indicating that loss of HMG-CoA reductase activity
through targeted disruption of the gene in the germ line leads either to implantation
failure or to embryonic death prior to implantation. Moreover, the lethal phenotypesof Hmgcr-/- embryos were not completely reversed by supplementation withmevalonate to the dams.
Mammalian cells accelerate their growth rate dramatically upon implantation.
Cholesterol synthesis in the embryos appears to begin at the peri-implantation stage(around E4-5 in mice) (30,31).

Cholesterol plays an essential role in mammalianembryonic development, including the covalent modification of the morphogenic sonichedgehog signal pathway during early gestation (32).

Nevertheless, defective

cholesterol synthesis is unlikely to explain the peri-implantational lethality of
Hmgcr−/− embryos, because mice lacking squalene synthase (Ss-/-), the first committed
enzyme of sterol synthesis in the mevalonate pathway, are viable until around E9.5 evenwith gross growth retardation and defective neural tube closure (18).

Observations in

Ss-/- embryos suggest that even in the complete absence of endogenous cholesterol
biosynthesis, maternally supplied cholesterol could, even though incompletely, support
the embryonic growth by E9.5.
The phenotype of Hmgcr null mice is strikingly severer than that of Ss-/- mice.
In addition to loss of de novo cholesterol synthesis, disruption of mevalonate synthesis
has many ramifications, including loss of non-sterol isoprenoids essential for protein
isoprenylation modifications and potential perturbation on N-linked glycosylation
through inhibition of dolichol synthesis (1).

13

Non-sterol isoprenoids serve as lipid

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

attachment for a variety of intracellular signaling molecules including small GTPbinding proteins, such as Rho, Ras, and Rac, whose proper membrane localization andfunction are dependent on isoprenylation (33).

Given the role that these proteins playin pathways regulating cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, and cytoskeletalorganization, it seems likely that the altered expression will manifest as markedly
abnormal function during embryogenesis. Furthermore, studies with mice deficient indolichol-mediated N-glycan formation suggest that N-glycosylation is also essential forthe peri-implantation stage embryos (34).

In addition, recent studies in Drosophila, aspecies without sterol synthesis, revealed another critical developmental function of
HMG-CoA reductase in providing spatial information to guide migrating primordial
germ cells (35).

Indeed, HMG-CoA reductase is highly expressed during thedevelopment in humans (36), mice (37), sea urchin (38), and Drosophila (39).

Studieswith in situ hybridization revealed that HMG-CoA reductase mRNA is highly expressedin the post-imlantation rat embryos, from the egg cylinder stage through gastrulation,neurulation, and early organogenesis, with strong signal observed in primitive ectoderm
and neural tube, which may reflect developmental requirements for products of themevalonate pathway in these organs (30).

In Hmgcr-/- mice, production of those non-sterol metabolites was hindered, while it may remained unaffected in Ss-/- mice.
Therefore, perturbation of non-sterol isoprenoid synthesis would probably underlie theseverer phenotypes of Hmgcr-/- embryos.

Whether the lethal phenotype observed in

the HMG-CoA reductase deficiency results from deficiency of some specificisoprenoids or from a more global deficiency of isoprenoids is uncertain at present.
A requirement for mevalonate-derived isoprenoids in early embryogenesis wasreported two decades ago, in studies of cultured embryos where compactin, a classic
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, interrupted their preimplantation development after 32-

14

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Micecell stage in vitro, the effect which was reversed by mevalonate supplementation (37).
Interestingly, ultrastructural examination of growth-arrested embryos revealed apredominance of nuclei with highly condensed chromatin, a hallmark of apoptosis.
However, in vivo studies with various statins generally exhibited neither teratogenic norembryotoxic effect when administered even at maternally toxic doses (40-43).

Only

early studies with mevinolin (lovastatin) showed that high doses of this compound
administered to pregnant rats resulted in fetal malformations of the vertebrae and ribs,
as well as gastroschisis (failure of abdominal wall to close) (44).

Collectively, theeffects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibition on embryogenesis had not been fully
established.

Our results, however, have clearly demonstrated that HMG-CoA

reductase is crucial in very early steps of embryogenesis.
The reasons why mevalonate supplementation failed to completely rescue
Hmgcr-/- pups are not clear.

The fact that growth arrest of blastocysts by compactin

and teratogenic effects of mevinolin were readily reversed by administered mevalonate
indicates that they were due to end-product deficiency and not to precursor build-up.
At mid and late gestation, mevalonate was demonstrated to cross the maternal-fetal
barrier (45), suggesting that maternally derived mevalonate might be utilized by laterstage developing embryos.

Although in early stage embryos mevalonate seems to bepermeable into embryonic cells from intrauterine environment, cellular amount ofmevalonate might be in tight control to support proper peri-implantation development,
making its unregulated supplementation to the dams invalid. Alternatively, transfer ofmaternal mevalonate to the embryos might require proper development ofcholioallantoic circulatory system.
Most of human malformation syndromes due to inborn errors of cholesterol
biosynthesis involve enzymes at the distal steps of the mevalonate pathway, and not at

15

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

more proximal steps (Reviewed in Refs. 46,47), indicating that many of theintermediates of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway are essential for fundamental
cellular processes and the loss of these important pathways would result in cell deathand early embryonic lethality. The absence of human genetic disease caused by HMGCoA reductase deficiency suggests that the defect would cause prenatal death also inhumans as observed in Hmgcr-null mice.

In this regard, it is interesting to note that

HMG-CoA reductase activity in the liver of human anencephalic fetus was reported tobe 10-fold less than in the liver of normal fetus (48), although the causal relationshipwas not implied.

On the other hand, several subjects with partial absence ofmevalonate kinase, the enzyme immediately following HMG-CoA reductase, have been
described (49).

These patients are characterized by mevalonic aciduria and a broad

range of phenotypic findings including malformations of the central nervous system,
facial dysmorphy, psychomotor retardation, and recurrent fever episodes.

Plasmacholesterol levels are normal in subjects with mevalonate kinase deficiency, suggestingthat compensatory mechanisms, such as increased activities of HMG-CoA reductase andthe LDL receptor pathway (50), are sufficient to overcome the enzyme deficiency andprovide adequate synthesis of cholesterol as well as non-sterol intermediates forembryogenesis.
Several mutant cell lines deficient in HMG-CoA reductase have beencharacterized (51).

One such cell line, designated as UT-2 cells, is a mutant clone ofChinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells that expresses only 2-5% of the HMG-CoA
reductase activity of parental CHO cells and requires exogenous mevalonate for growth(52).

Recently, Engfelt et al. identified the responsible mutations in the structural genefor reductase (16).

By growing UT-2 cells in the absence of mevalonate, they haveestablished a new cell line, designated as UT-2* cells, and demonstrated that UT-2*

16

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Micecells had up-regulated HMG-CoA reductase activity which was localized exclusively toperoxisomes and the peroxisomal enzyme in these cells was sufficient for survival
without mevalonate (15,17).

Based on the detailed characterization of UT-2* cells,

they suggested the existence of a second, peroxisome-specific gene for the reductase.
Presence of multiple genes encoding HMG-CoA reductase in lower organisms such as
yeast, fungi and plants also appeared to support the notion of a second reductase gene in
mammals.
Contrary to these observations, the lethal phenotype of Hmgcr-/- mice argues
against the presence of a second gene, irrespective of whether it encodes a peroxisomal
or ER reductase, which could functionally replace the classical ER reductase, at least in
the very early stage of development.

Consistently, in a recent review Breitling andKrisans noted that comprehensive analysis of genome sequence of human and mousethrough homology search revealed no evidence of a second gene in mammals (53).
They concluded that the peroxisomal activity is due to alternative targeting of the ER
enzyme to peroxisomes by an as yet uncharacterized mechanism. Establishment of
Hmgcr-/- ES cell lines, if possible, would provide another opportunity to address theseissues.
In Hmgcr+/− mice, the HMG-CoA reductase activities and rate of cholesterol
biosynthesis in the liver remained unaffected, indicating that the haploid amount of
Hmgcr gene is not rate-limiting in hepatic cholesterol homeostasis.

This is not

surprising in light of multivalent control of HMG-CoA reductase activities in order toretain cholesterol homeostasis.

On the other hand, Hmgcr+/- MEFs exhibited 50%

reduction in enzymatic activities in either basal or activated condition examined,suggesting that HMG-CoA reductase activities in MEFs may simply reflect the genedosage, while that in the liver is controlled by a more complex mechanism.

17

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in MiceIn conclusion, we have generated a murine model of HMG-CoA reductase
deficiency, which should provide the basis for understanding the roles of mevalonate
pathway in the embryonic development as well as the pleiotropic effects of statins.

18

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Kimiko Saito, Megumi Herai, Mihoko Kusubae, and Rie Tamura forexcellent technical assistance.

We also thank Dr. Osamu Tsutsumi for advice on

blastocyst culture.

19

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

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23

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

FOOTNOTES*This work was supported by Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research 10557104 from the
Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, the Promotion of Fundamental Studies in
Health Science of the Organization for Pharmaceutical Safety and Research (OPSR),
and Health Sciences Research Grants (Research on Human Genome and Gene Therapy)
from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Takeda Medical Research Foundation, andYamnouchi Foundation for Research on Metabolic Disorders.

1

The abbreviations used are: HMG-CoA, 3-hydroxy-3-methyglutaryl-coenzyme A; ER,

endoplasmic reticulum; E, embryonic day; MEF, mouse embryonic fibroblast; DMEM,
Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium; FCS, fetal calf serum; LPDS, lipoprotein-deficientserum;LDL,

lowdensity

lipoprotein;GAPDH,

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

dehydrogenase; HPLC, high performance liquid chromatography; CHO, Chinese
hamster ovary.

24

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

FIGURE LEGENDS
Fig. 1.

Targeted disruption of the Hmgcr gene. A, a map of the Hmgcr locus,

together with the sequence replacement gene-targeting vector and the targeted Hmgcr
allele.

Only relevant exons (closed boxes) and introns (thick lines) are shown.

The

gene targeting event replaced the region spanning exon 12-14 with a cassette containing
a neomycin resistance gene (neo) driven by the RNA polymerase II promoter.

Thetranscriptional direction of the neo gene is indicated by the arrow in its box.

Twocopies of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) expression cassettes wereused as a negative selection marker.

The location of the 0.5-kb probe used forSouthern blot analysis is denoted by a closed bar. Upon homologous recombination,
disrupted allele yields a 8.7-kb EcoRI fragment, whereas the corresponding fragment
for wild-type allele is 16 kb. E, EcoRI; P1, primer 1; P2, primer 2; kb, kilobase pairs. B,
Southern blot analysis of EcoRI-digested tail DNA from F1 offspring to confirm germline transmission of the targeted allele.

The positions of migration of the EcoRI

fragments derived from wild-type and disrupted alleles are indicated.

Molecular size

markers are shown on the right.

Fig. 2. Genotyping of blastocyst.

A, Scheme for PCR detection of wild-type anddisrupted Hmgcr alleles. Exon 14 (solid box), the neo-expression cassette (open box),
and the location of primers 1, 3 and 4 are depicted.

B, Representative Southern blot

analysis of PCR products amplified from blastocyst DNA. Wild-type (300 bp) andmutant (220 bp) bands are indicated.

Fig. 3. Hepatic expression of the genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis in
Hmgcr+/− mice.

Northern blot for HMG-CoA reductase, HMG-CoA synthase,25

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Micefarnesyl diphosphate synthase, squalene synthase, LDL receptor (upper panels), and
GAPDH (lower panels) as a loading control using liver poly(A+) RNA. W, wild-type; H,heterozygote.

Fig. 4. Activity of HMG-CoA reductase in cellular extracts from MEFs.
were grown to 60-70% confluence in 10% FCS-DMEM.

MEFs

After the monolayers were

cultured in DMEM containing either 10% FCS, or 5 mg/ml LPDS with or without 100
nM simvastatin for 6 h, the cells were detergent-solubilized and the extracts wereassayed for HMG-CoA reductase activity. Simvastatin was diluted out before assay toensure full activity measurements.

Each value represents the average of 9 Hmgcr+/- or

6 Hmgcr+/+ MEF clones +/- S.D.

*, p < 0.005; **, p < 0.001.

26

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

Table I: Genotypes of offspring from intercrosses of Hmgcr+/- mice.

Genotype

Age

+/+

+/−

−/−

Resorbed

Total

3 weeks

52

106

0

NA

158

E13.5

3

7

0

0

10

E8.5-9.5

17

26

0

0

43

E3.5

13

42

19

NA

74

NA, not applicable.

27

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

Table II: Effects of maternal mevalonate supplementation on the genotypes ofoffspring from heterozygous intercrosses.

Age

Appearance

Total

Genotype

NormalAbnormal*

+/+

+/-

-/-

3 weeks

31

0

10

21

0

31

E9.5-10.5

39

10

16

23

0

49

* Abnormal embryos were with egg cylinder stage appearance at E9.5-10.5 and theirprecise genotyping was not successful.

28

HMG-CoA Reductase Deficiency in Mice

Table III: Phenotypic comparison of Hmgcr+/+ and Hmgcr+/- mice.
Genotype
Numberof mice

Wild-type

Heterozygote

5129.6±78.7

117.5±59.3

61217.8±793.4

1008.3±436.3

Liver cholesterol content (mg/g)

53.5±0.47

3.0±0.44

Liver triglyceride content (mg/g)

515.2±2.2

11.6±6.3

Plasma total cholesterol (mg/dl)

1494.0±19.4

100.5±30.9

Plasma triglycerides (mg/dl)

2082.3±24.7

84.3±35.3

Parameter
HMG-CoA
reductase(pmol/mg protein/min)

activity[14C]Acetate incorporation
sterols (dpm/100 mg liver/h)

intoEach value represents mean +/- S.D. of the indicated number of 8-12-week-old
littermate mice of the indicated genotype. All mice were fed a normal chow diet. For
determination of plasma lipid levels, blood was collected after a 4-h fast.

Nosignificant differences were noted between Hmgcr+/+ and Hmgcr+/- mice for eachparameter.

29

Fig. 1A
Wild-type
AlleleProbe

E

2 34 5

Targeting
Vector6

12 13 14 15

1kb

neo
2 34 5

Disrupted
Allele

16

E

E

6

12

HSV-TK HSV-TK

14 15
P2

E P1

E

E

E

neo
2 34 5

6

12

14 15

E

8.7 kb

DisruptedE
Wild-type

kb
23.1
9.4
6.6

Disrupted

E
E

16 kb

B
Wild-type16

Fig. 2A Wild-type

Disrupted

Bexon 14
P3

P4
P1
neo

Wild-typeP4

Disrupted/

Fig. 3

HMG-CoA
Reductase
W H

HMG-CoA
Synthase
W H

Mevalonate
Kinase
W H

0.9

1.5

1.5

Squalene
Synthase
W H

LDL
Receptor

1.6

1.0

Farnesyl
Diphosphate
Synthase
W

H

1.7

W

H

Fig. 4

HMG-CoA Reductase Activity(pmol/mg protein/min)

1500
Hmgcr+/+
Hmgcr+/-

1000

∗∗
500

∗

∗∗

0
FCS

LPDS

LPDS+Sim