The docking protein FRS2α is an essential component of multiple fibroblast growth factor responses during early mouse development

The docking protein FRS2 alpha is a major mediator of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling. However, the physiological role of FRS2 alpha in vivo remains unknown. In this report, we show that Frs2 alpha-null mouse embryos have a defect in anterior-posterior (A-P) axis formation and are developmentally retarded, resulting in embryonic lethality by embryonic. day 8. We demonstrate that FRS2 alpha is essential for the maintenance of self-renewing trophoblast stem (TS) cells in response to FGF4 in the extraembryonic ectoderm (ExE) that gives rise to tissues of the placenta. By analyzing chimeric embryos, we found that FRS2 alpha also plays a role in cell movement through the primitive streak during gastrulation. In addition, experiments are presented demonstrating that Bmp4 expression in TS cells is controlled by mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent FGF4 stimulation. Moreover, both the expression of Bmp4 in ExE and activation of Smad1/5 in epiblasts are reduced in Frs2 alpha-null embryos. These experiments underscore the critical role of FRS2 alpha in mediating multiple processes during embryonic development and reveal a potential new link between FGF and Bmp4 signaling pathways in early embryogenesis.