ZC3H14 mediates the regulatory mechanism of nuclear speckles assembly in early embryonic development of mice [scRNA-Seq]

However, it is unclear whether the nuclear speckles play an important role in embryos. In this study, we demonstrated that ZC3H14 promotes the formation of nuclear speckles, which is essential for mouse embryonic development.

Zc3h14 knockout mice had reduced fertility and embryonic development was blocked at the 2-cell stage. ZC3H14 is localized to nuclear speckles during embryonic transcriptional activity, and inhibition of its phosphorylation affects the binding of ZC3H14 to mRNA and inhibits the formation of nuclear speckles. As a result, the mRNA cannot complete alternative splicing normally, and a large amount of abnormal RNA accumulates in the embryo, leading to developmental arrest.