Abstract
Study question
To elucidate if morphine can alter embryo development.
Summary answer
Chronic morphine treatment regulates BMP4 growth factor, in terms of gene expression and H3K27me3 enrichment and promotes in-vitro blastocysts development and PGC formation.
What is known already
BMP4 is a member of the bone morphogenetic protein family, which acts mainly through SMAD dependent pathway, to play an important role in early embryo development. Indeed, BMP4 enhances pluripotency in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and, specifically, is involved in blastocysts formation and primordial germ cells (PGCs) generation. Although, external morphine influence has been previously reported on the early embryo development, focus on implantation and uterus function, there is a big concern in understanding how environmental factors can cause stable epigenetic changes, which could be maintained during development and lead to health problems.
Study design, size, duration
First, OCT4-reported mESCs were chronically treated with morphine during 24h, 10–5mM. After morphine removal, mESCs were collected for RNA-seq and H3K27me3 ChIP-seq study. To elucidate the role of morphine in early embryo development, two cell- embryos stage were chronically treated with morphine for 24h and in-vitro cultured up to the blastocyst stage in the absence of morphine. Furthermore, after morphine treatment mESCs were differentiated to PGCs, to elucidate the role of morphine in PGC differentiation.
Participants/materials, setting, methods
Transcriptomic analyses and H3K27me3 genome wide distribution were carried out by RNA-Sequencing and Chip-Sequencing respectively. Validations were performed by RNA-RT-qPCR and Chip-RT-qPCR.
Main results and the role of chance
Dynamic transcriptional analyses identified a total of 932 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after morphine treatment on mESCs, providing strong evidence of a transcriptional epigenetic effect induced by morphine. High-throughput screening approaches showed up Bmp4 as one of the main morphine targets on mESCs. Morphine caused an up-regulation of Bmp4 gene expression together with a decrease of H3K27me3 enrichment at promoter level. However, no significant differences were observed on gene expression and H3K27me3 enrichment on BMP4 signaling pathway components (such as Smad1, Smad4, Smad5, Smad7, Prdm1 and Prmd14) after morphine treatment. On the other hand, the Bmp4 gene expression was also up-regulated in in-vitro morphine treated blastocyst and in-vitro morphine treated PGCs. These results were consistent with the increase in blastocyst rate and PGC transformation rate observed after morphine chronic treatment.
Limitations, reasons for caution
To perform the in-vitro analysis. Further studies are needed to describe the whole signaling pathways underlying BMP4 epigenetic regulation after morphine treatment.
Wider implications of the findings: Our findings confirmed that mESCs and two-cell embryos are able to memorize morphine exposure and promote both blastocyst development and PGCs formation through potentially BMP4 epigenetic regulation. These results provide insights understanding how environmental factors can cause epigenetic changes during the embryo development, leading to alterations and producing health problems/diseases
Trial registration number
Not applicable
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