# Deletion of Rspo1 or Rspo3 in the mesenchyme does not affect Wolffian duct maintenance or morphogenesis

## TL;DR

This study shows that deleting Rspo1 or Rspo3 in mouse Wolffian duct mesenchyme does not impact duct development.

## Contribution

The novel finding is that Rspo1 and Rspo3 in mesenchyme are not essential for Wolffian duct development in mice.

## Key findings

- Conditional deletion of Rspo1 or Rspo3 in the mesenchyme does not affect Wolffian duct maintenance.
- Rspo1 and Rspo3 are dispensable for Wolffian duct morphogenesis in mice.

## Abstract

Secreted proteins, R-Spondin 1 (RSPO1) and R-Spondin 3 (RSPO3), potentiate WNT/β-catenin signaling that play critical roles in reproductive organ development. However, the functional significance of RSPO1 and RSPO3 in Wolffian duct development remains undefined. In this report, we demonstrated their specific expression in the Wolffian duct mesenchyme during sexual differentiation. We generated individual conditional knockouts using
Osr2-Cre
that deleted
Rspo1
or
Rspo3
in the Wolffian duct mesenchyme. Wolffian duct maintenance and morphogenesis was unaffected in either
Rspo1
or
Rspo3
conditional knockout mice. Our results indicate that mesenchymal
Rspo1
or
Rspo3
is dispensable for Wolffian duct development in mice.