Erythropoietin in mouse avascular yolk sacs is increased by retinoic acid

Erythropoiesis begins first in the visceral yolk sac (VYS) of the embryo; however, the involvement of erythropoietin (EPO) in yolk‐sac erythropoiesis has not been studied adequately. This study reports the expression of EPO in normal and hypoxic VYSs and alterations in yolk sac components induced by retinoic acid (RA) in mice. Gravid mice (plug day = day 0 of gestation) were given one oral dose of 60 mg/kg of RA in olive oil on days 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, or 8 of gestation and were sacrificed 2.5, 3, or 3.5 days later. Control mice received olive oil without RA. None of the dams developed anemia, but more than 80% of the embryos of the dams that received RA on day 6, 6.5, or 7 of gestation had avascular yolk sacs (AVYs) and anemia. In these AVYs, the adenosine triphosphate (ATF) level was as low as 18–59% of that in the control VYSs. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and Southern analysis of products demonstrated that mRNA for EPO receptor (EPR) was expressed in both VYSs and AVYs on days 9–11 of gestation, and EPO mRNA was present in VYSs and AVYs on days 9 and 10 of gestation and in vehicle‐exposed VYSs on day 11 of gestation. Furthermore, enzyme immunoassay of EPO indicated that AVYs contained more EPO protein than control VYSs. Light microscopy revealed that, in AVYs, in addition to the defective hemopoietic cells the endodermal layer was exclusively altered: The presence of focal proliferated regions and the separation from the mesenchyme led to a single layer from which some immature cells seemed to be migrating. Immunolocalization of EPO showed its presence in all components of VYSs with a characteristic distribution pattern: In the endodermal layer, cells with positive EPO staining decreased as gestation advanced, and erythroid precursor cells showed positive staining. In AVYs, the proliferated endodermal cells had EPO in abundance; in the separated regions, the distinction between positive and negative EPO staining became clearer than that in the control VYSs, and the immature cells in the lumens also had EPO. EPR was seen on the cell surface of the corresponding cells that reacted to EPO. These findings suggest that VYSs not only produce EPO temporarily but also respond to the oxygen content in situ. EPO and EPR appear to be synthesized in the endodermal cells of the VYSs that are likely to respond to the circumstances induced by RA. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.