Nature Genetics35, 25 - 31 (2003)
Published online: 17 August 2003; | doi:10.1038/ng1232
Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 is essential for meiosis but not for mitotic cell division in mice
Sagrario Ortega1, Ignacio Prieto2, Junko Odajima1, Alberto Martín1, Pierre Dubus3, Rocio Sotillo1, Jose Luis Barbero2, Marcos Malumbres1
& Mariano Barbacid1
1
Molecular Oncology Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas, Melchor Fernández Almagro 3, Madrid E-28029, Spain.
2
Department of Immunology and Oncology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia/CSIC, UAM Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid E-28029, Spain.
3
E.A. 2406, Histologie et Pathologie Moléculaire, Université de Bordeaux 2, 33076 Bordeaux, France.
We targeted the locus encoding the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) by homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Embryonic fibroblasts lacking CDK2 proliferate normally and become immortal after continuous passage in culture. Elimination of a conditional Cdk2 allele in immortal cells does not have a significant effect on proliferation. Cdk2-/- mice are viable and survive for up to two years, indicating that CDK2 is also dispensable for proliferation and survival of most cell types. But CDK2 is essential for completion of prophase I during meiotic cell division in male and female germ cells, an unforeseen role for this cell cycle kinase.
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