Prdm6 drives ductus arteriosus closure by promoting ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cell identity and contractility

Based upon our demonstration that the smooth muscle cell-selective (SMC-selective) putative methyltransferase, Prdm6, interacts with myocardin-related transcription factor-A, we examined Prdm6's role in SMCs in vivo using cell type-specific knockout mouse models. Although SMC-specific depletion of Prdm6 in adult mice was well tolerated, Prdm6 depletion in Wnt1-expressing cells during development resulted in perinatal lethality and a completely penetrant patent ductus arteriosus (DA) phenotype....