Comparison of gene expression profiles of MafF-/-: MafG-/-: MafK-/- embryos and MafF-/-: MafG+/+: MafK-/- embyos

MafF-/-: MafG+/+: MafK-/- mice are viable, while MafF-/-: MafG-/-: MafK-/- mice are embryonic lethal. To get an insight into the cause of the lethality of small Maf triple knockout mice, transcriptome analysis was performed using whole embyos of MafF-/-: MafG-/-: MafK-/- at E10.5 and those of MafF-/-: MafG+/+: MafK-/- at E9.5 or E10.5. Because MafF-/-: MafG-/-: MafK-/- embryos exhibit growth retardation, the gene expression profile of MafF-/-: MafG-/-: MafK-/- embryos at E10.5 was compared with that of MafF-/-: MafG+/+: MafK-/- embyos at E9.5. The gene expression profile of MafF-/-: MafG+/+: MafK-/- embryos at E10.5 was also examined as an alternative control. Total RNA was prepared from pooled three embryos for each sample.