Fig. 1. GP130 is expressed in PGCs throughout early development. (A) RT-PCR showing expression of GP130 and STAT3 in PGCs at E10.5 and E12.5. LIFR message is present at E12.5. The PGC marker gene Kit is expressed at both stages, and the somatic marker Kitl (St) is absent. `+' indicates RT+ and `-' indicates RT-controls. (B) GP130 protein is present in extracts prepared from E14.5 testes (T) and ovaries (O). The equivalent of 1/3 of a gonad was loaded per lane. Blotting was performed using the M20 antibody. (C,D) Whole mounts stained with goat anti-GP130 (gGP130; red). (C) Control (E10.5; no primary antibody). PGCs express GFP (green) driven by the Oct4PE promoter. (D) GP130 is expressed on the cell surface of PGCs at E10.5. Cell surface expression is evident on somatic as well as germ cells. (E,F) 12 mm frozen sections from E15.5 embryos stained with gGP130. GP130 is expressed in the ovary (E) and testis (F) at E15.5. Cell surface staining is much stronger in the somatic cells than in the PGCs. Scale bars: 20 µm.

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