scholarly journals 117 CYTOPLASMIC FACTORS INFLUENCE DEVELOPMENTAL POTENTIAL OF SAMP1/Yit MOUSE EMBRYOS

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
J. Otsuka ◽  
H. Funabashi ◽  
T. Kono

Nuclear transplantation is an efficient means to investigate nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions of mammalian embryos during early development. A recent study has shown that the developmental potential of embryos is affected by the type of cytoplasm. The SAMP1/Yit mouse, an inbred strain that develops spontaneous chronic ileitis resembling Crohn's disease (Matsumoto S 1999 Bioscience Microflora 18, 1–9), has poor reproductive performance, and the developmental ability of embryos is low (unpublished data). Therefore we need to enhance productivity of the SAMP1/Yit mouse. Recently it was reported that cytoplasm of F1 mouse egg supported the development of embryos which have low developmental ability (Muggleton-Harris A et al. 1982 Nature 299, 460–462). In the present study, we examined the influences of the nucleus and cytoplasm on the development of reconstructed embryos in vitro and in vivo, using reciprocal nuclear transplantation between SAMP1/Yit and B6P1F1 (C57BL/6J × SAMP1/Yit) mouse embryos. We evaluated the developmental ability of reconstructed embryos by the development rate into blastocysts in vitro and by the rate of offspring after transfer of blastocysts to recipient mice. Pronuclear transplantation was carried out as reported previously (McGrath J and Solter D 1983 Science 220, 1300–1302). Briefly, karyoplasts from one-cell SAMP1/Yit embryos were introduced into enucleated B6P1F1 zygotes (SAMP1/B6P1F1) and fused by addition of inactivated HVJ (2700 U L−1). The other group of reconstructed embryos (B6P1F1/SAMP1) was manipulated similarly. After fusion, reconstructed embryos were cultured in drops of KSOM medium for 120 h at 37°C in 5% CO2 in humidified air. Some reconstructed and control (unmanipulated) embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage were transferred to the uteri of recipient mice. Data were compared using chi-square test; differences were considered significant at P < 0.01. The development rate of [SAMP1/B6P1F1] embryos to the blastocyst stage was significantly (P < 0.01) higher (75.0%) than that of SAMP1/Yit controls (39.1%). The rate of offspring in [SAMP1/B6P1F1] was also significantly (P < 0.01) higher (47.5%) than that of SAMP1/Yit controls (22.1%). On the other hand, [B6P1F1/SAMP1] embryos showed low developmental potential compared to B6P1F1 control embryos. These results indicate that the source of the cytoplasm strongly influences the development of reconstructed embryos containing SAMP1/Yit karyoplasts. Table 1.

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
J. G. Zhao ◽  
J. W. Ross ◽  
Y. H. Hao ◽  
D. M. Wax ◽  
L. D. Spate ◽  
...  

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a promising technology with potential applications in both agriculture and regenerative medicine. The reprogramming of differentiated somatic nuclei into totipotent embryonic state following NT is not efficient and the mechanism is currently unknown. However, accumulating evidence suggests that faulty epigenetic reprogramming is likely to be the major cause of low success rates observed in all mammals produced through SCNT. It has been demonstrated that increased histone acetylation in reconstructed embryos by applying histone deacetylases inhibitor (HDACi) such as trychostatin A (TSA) significantly enhanced the developmental competence in several species in vitro and in vivo. However TSA has been known to be teratogenic. Compared with TSA, Scriptaid is a low toxic but more efficient HDACi (Su GH et al. 2000 Cancer Res. 60, 3137–3142). The objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate and optimize the application Scriptaid to the NT using Landrace fetal fibroblast cells (FFCs) as donor; 2) investigate the effect of increased histone acetylation on the developmental competence of reconstructed embryos from NIH mini inbred FFCs in vitro and in vivo. The reconstructed embryos were treated with Scriptaid at different concentrations (0 nm, 250 nm, 500 nm and 1000 nm) after activation for 14 to 16 h. IVF embryos without treatment were produced as an additional control. Developmental rates to the 2-cell and blastocyst stage were determined. Developmental potential was determined by transferring Day 1 NT zygotes to the oviducts of surrogates on the day of, or one day after, the onset of estrus. Experiments were repeated at least 3 times and data were analyzed with chi-square tests using SAS 6.12 program (SAS institute, Inc., Cary, NC, USA). The percentage blastocyst of cloned embryos using Landrace FFCs as donors treated with 500 nm Scriptaid was the highest and was significantly higher than untreated group (25% v. 11%, P < 0.05). Percent cleaved was not different among four treatment groups. We used 500 nm Scriptaid for 14 to 16 h after activation for all subsequent experiments. Developmental rate to the blastocyst stage was significantly increased in cloned embryos derived from NIH mini inbred FFCs after treating with Scriptaid (21% v. 9%, P < 0.05), while the blastocyst rate in IVF group was 30%. Embryo transfer (ET) results showed that 5/6 (Transferred embryos No. were 190, 109, 154, 174, 152, and 190, respectively) surrogates (83%) became pregnant resulting in 2 healthy piglets from 2 litters (recipients received 190 and 154 embryos, respectively) in the Scriptaid treatment group, while no pregnancies were obtained in the untreated group from 5 ET (Embryos transferred No. are 140, 163, 161, 151 and 151, respectively). These results suggest that 500 nm Scriptaid treatment following activation increase both the in vitro and in vivo development of porcine SCNT embryos from NIH mini inbred FFCs and the hyperacetylation might actually improve reprogramming of the somatic nuclei after NT. Funding from the National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources RR018877.


Development ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-217
Author(s):  
Janet L. Wiebold ◽  
Gary B. Anderson

2- to 4-cell and morula- to blastocyst-stage mouse embryos were cultured for 1 h in tritiated leucine at two specific activities and their subsequent development followed in vitro and in vivo (after transfer to recipients), respectively. 2- to 4-cell embryos that incorporated an average of 42 d.p.m. per embryo were impaired in their ability to develop to the morula and blastocyst stage. Recipients receiving morulae and blastocysts that had incorporated an average of 384 d.p.m. per embryo failed to produce young. Reduction of the specific activity improved the viability of embryos both in vitro and in vivo but development was still less than that of unlabelled embryos. Protein degradation curves were different for both 2- to 4-cell and morulato blastocyst-stage embryos labelled at the two different specific activities. Most studies using tritiated amino acids have employed higher specific activities than those used here and they may have to be reevaluated due to the possibility of radiation-induced artifacts.


Development ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-225
Author(s):  
E. Lehtonen ◽  
R. A. Badley

The immunofluorescence technique was used to detect the presence and distribution of actin, alpha-actinin, tubulin and 10 nm filament protein in early mouse embryos. Actin and alpha-actinin stainings showed a distinct concentration to a peripheral layer in the cleavage-stage blastomeres and in trophectoderm cells. Dots of fluorescence appeared in this cortical staining pattern. The distribution of tubulin staining in the blastomere cytoplasm was relatively even with apparent concentration at the perinuclear region and frequently at wide intercellular contact areas. 10 nm filament protein was distributed evenly in the blastomere cytoplasm without cortical concentration of the label. At the blastocyst stage, the trophectoderm cells in blastocyst outgrowths in vitro developed well organized cytoskeletons including both microfilament, microtubule and 10 nm filament elements. Comparable structures were not observed in blastocysts in vivo, or in late hatched blastocysts cultured in suspension. The morphogenetic significance of the observations is discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
C. Feltrin ◽  
M. Machado ◽  
L. M. V. Queiroz ◽  
M. A. S. Peixer ◽  
P. F. Malard ◽  
...  

In vitro embryo production by handmade cloning (HMC) usually requires individual embryo culture, because zona-free embryos cannot be grouped in standard in vitro culture (IVC) protocols. The aim of this study was to evaluate the developmental potential of bovine embryos produced by HMC (Ribeiro et al. 2009 Cloning Stem Cells 11, 377–386) after in vitro culture (IVC) in 3 microwell (WOW) systems. After in vitro maturation, oocytes were denuded and incubated in demecolcine (Ibáñez et al. 2003 Biol. Reprod. 68, 1249–1258), followed by zona pellucida removal, oocyte bisection, embryo reconstruction, electrofusion, and chemical activation. Cloned embryos were allocated to 1 of 3 IVC groups: cWOW: conventional microwells (250 μm, round; Vajta et al. 2000 Mol. Reprod. Dev. 55, 256–264); mWOW: modified microwells (130 μm, conical; Feltrin et al. 2006 Reprod. Fert. Dev. 18, 126); and WOW-PDMS: microwells in polydimethylsiloxane chips (170 μm, cylindrical with microchannels); IVF embryos were used as controls (Bertolini et al. 2004 Reproduction 128, 341–354). Cleavage (Day 2), blastocyst (Day 7), and pregnancy (Day 30) rates were analysed by the chi-square test, for P < 0.05. Results are shown in Table 1. Cleavage rates were similar between groups, but development to the blastocyst stage was higher in IVF controls than cloned embryo groups. Among cloned embryo groups, blastocyst rate was higher in the mWOW group than the conventional and the PMDS-based microchannels. Nevertheless, in vivo development to Day 30 of pregnancy was not different between cloned groups. Our results for in vitro embryo development indicated that the mWOW provided more suitable conditions for embryo development to the blastocyst stage when compared with cWOW or even WOW-PDMS. Among some possible reasons include the physical advantage of a smaller microwell that may better mimic the constraining effect of the zona pellucida on the developing embryo. That may also provide greater blastomere stability, favouring the aggregation state during the first rounds of cleavages, also aiding compaction and subsequent cavitation. The narrower microwell system appeared to have promoted better in vitro development than the conventional and the DMPS-based microwell systems, with no impact on subsequent in vivo development. However, the IVC in the WOW-PDMS system supported reasonable rates of development, in accordance with the current literature. Table 1.In vitro development of bovine IVF and cloned embryos produced after the in vitro culture in distinct IVC systems


Zygote ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masashi Nagano ◽  
Seiji Katagiri ◽  
Yoshiyuki Takahashi

We investigated the relationship between the morphology of oocytes collected from small antral follicles and their developmental capacity. Immature oocytes were classified into seven groups and cultured in vitro for maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF) and development to blastocysts (IVC). After IVF, sperm penetration and normal fertilization rates were higher in the oocytes whose cytoplasm appeared brown. The rate of polyspermy was highest in the oocytes whose cytoplasm was black. After IVC, the rates of cleavage and of development to the blastocyst stage were also higher in the brown oocytes. Although the oocytes with dark clusters in a pale cytoplasm showed lower cleavage rates, cleaved zygotes had high developmental rates the same as the oocytes with a brown cytoplasm. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the oocytes with a pale or black cytoplasm had organelles arranged differently from other oocytes before IVM. Most of the oocytes with a brown and homogeneous cytoplasm or small diameter had the characteristics of immature cytoplasm (large clusters of cortical granules) even after IVM. On the other hand, the brown oocytes with a dark zone at the periphery or with dark clusters showed the same arrangement of organelles as in vivo matured oocytes. The oocytes with a pale or black cytoplasm appeared to be degenerating and/or ageing. In conclusion, a dark ooplasm indicates an accumulation of lipids and good developmental potential, while a light-coloured ooplasm indicates a low density of organelles and poor developmental potential. A black ooplasm indicates ageing and low developmental potential.


Reproduction ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 131 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakan Sagirkaya ◽  
Muge Misirlioglu ◽  
Abdullah Kaya ◽  
Neal L First ◽  
John J Parrish ◽  
...  

Expression of embryonic genes is altered in different culture conditions, which influence developmental potential both during preimplantation and fetal development. The objective of this study was to define the effects of culture conditions on: bovine embryonic development to blastocyst stage, blastocyst cell number, apoptosis and expression patterns of a panel of developmentally important genes. Bovine embryos were culturedin vitroin three culture media containing amino acids, namely potassium simplex optimization medium (KSOMaa), Charles Rosenkrans 1 (CR1aa) and synthetic oviductal fluid (SOFaa). Apoptosis in blastocysts was determined by TUNEL assay and expression profiles of developmentally important genes were assayed by real-time PCR.In vivo-produced bovine blastocysts were used as controls for experiments determining gene expression patterns. While the cleavage rates did not differ, embryos cultured in SOFaa had higher rates of development to blastocyst stage (P< 0.05). Mean cell numbers and percentages of apoptotic cells per blastocyst did not differ among the groups. Expression of the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) gene was significantly up-regulated in both CR1aa and KSOMaa when compared with SOFaa (P< 0.001). DNA methyltransferase 3a (Dnmt3a) expression was higher in embryos cultured in CR1aa than in those cultured in SOFaa (P< 0.001). Expression of interferon tau (IF-τ) and insulin-like growth factor II receptor (Igf-2r) genes was significantly up-regulated in KSOMaa when compared with CR1aa (P< 0.001). Gene expression did not differ betweenin vivo-derived blastocysts and theirin vitro-derived counterparts. In conclusion, SOFaa supports higher development to blastocyst stage than KSOMaa and CR1aa, and the culture conditions influence gene expression.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
A. Velasquez ◽  
D. Veraguas ◽  
F. O. Castro ◽  
J. F. Cox ◽  
L. l. Rodriguez-Alvarez

It is known that embryos produced in vitro are less competent than their in vivo-derived counterparts. When embryos are produced or manipulated in vitro, their developmental potential decreases significantly, which impinges upon the production of viable offspring. In bovines, embryos that will be transferred to a surrogate mother are selected at the blastocysts stage using noninvasive methods, such as their morphological features. However, many of those embryos are not able to implant or to maintain a normal pregnancy because embryo morphology does not reflect its developmental potential and a correct gene expression pattern that support a normal development. It seems that the ideal method for embryo selection would be based on the screening of gene markers that correlate with successful pregnancy after embryo transfer. In that sense, we have proposed an approach to characterise gene expression pattern of early (Day 7) bovine blastocysts and to correlate this gene expression with further developmental potential in vivo, i.e. upon elongation until Day 17. For that, it was established an efficient method to produce identical and viable hemi-embryos by splitting IVF bovine blastocysts in order to set the expression profile of certain genes in one hemi-embryo at blastocyst stage, while the counterpart embryo elongates in vivo for 10 days. A total of 129 blastocysts were split. Six groups of blastocysts were used for splitting and the results compared: 1) Day-7 early blastocysts (n = 20); 2) Day-7 expanded blastocysts (n = 25); 3) Day-7 hatched blastocysts (n = 17); 4) Day-8 early blastocysts (n = 10); 5) Day-8 expanded blastocysts (n = 12); and 6) Day-8 hatched blastocysts (n = 45). Hemi-embryos derived from day-8 grade I and well expanded blastocysts had the greatest survival rate, in vitro re-expansion (67.7%; P < 0.05) and both hemi-embryos conserved a normal morphology with a total cell number over 80 after 6 h in culture. Also both hemi-embryos at blastocyst stage showed homogeneous expression pattern of the genes OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, CDX2, ACTB, and GAPDH (P < 0.05). Finally, the in vivo survival of hemi-embryos was assessed and compared with nonsplit embryos (control) by transferring to recipient cow and collecting at Day 17 of development. For this, hemi-embryos derived from Day-8 hatched blastocyst were used. From 14 transferred hemi-embryos, 5 (35.7%) were collected, and 9 elongated from 17 controls were recovered (52.9%). Also the elongation rate was significantly lower in hemi-embryos than in control; the length of hemi-embryos had a range between 1 and 5 cm, whereas 60% of the control embryos were longer than 10 cm. Our results provide an initial approach to study the correlation among the gene expression characteristics of early bovine embryos with their further development. However, it seems that embryo splitting hampers their elongation in vivo. It might be possible that the development of split embryos is retarded because of manipulation. This work was partially supported by Fondecyt grant no. 11100082 from the Ministry of Education of Chile.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
L. Ganeshan ◽  
C. O'Neill

The developmental viability of the early embryo requires the formation of the inner cell mass (ICM) at the blastocyst stage. The ICM contributes to all cell lineages within the developing embryo in vivo and the embryonic stem cell (ESC) lineage in vitro. Commitment of cells to the ICM lineage and its pluripotency requires the expression of core transcription factors, including Nanog and Pou5f1 (Oct4). Embryos subjected to culture in vitro commonly display a reduced developmental potential. Much of this loss of viability is due to the up-regulation of TRP53 in affected embryos. This study investigated whether increased TRP53 disrupts the expression of the pluripotency proteins and the normal formation of the ICM lineage. Mouse C57BL6 morulae and blastocysts cultured from zygotes (modHTF media) possessed fewer (p < 0.001) NANOG-positive cells than equivalent stage embryos collected fresh from the uterus. Blocking TRP53 actions by either genetic deletion (Trp53–/–) or pharmacological inhibition (Pifithrin-α) reversed this loss of NANOG expression during culture. Zygote culture also resulted in a TRP53-dependent loss of POU5F1-positive cells from resulting blastocysts. Drug-induced expression of TRP53 (by Nutlin-3) also caused a reduction in formation of pluripotent ICM. The loss of NANOG- and POU5F1-positive cells caused a marked reduction in the capacity of blastocysts to form proliferating ICM after outgrowth, and a consequent reduced ability to form ESC lines. These poor outcomes were ameliorated by the absence of TRP53, resulting in transmission distortion in favour of Trp53–/– zygotes (p < 0.001). This study shows that stresses induced by culture caused TRP53-dependent loss of pluripotent cells from the early embryo. This is a cause of the relative loss of viability and developmental potential of cultured embryos. The preferential survival of Trp53–/– embryos after culture due to their improved formation of pluripotent cells creates a genetic danger associated with these technologies.


1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1217 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Delhaise ◽  
FJ Ectors ◽  
Roover R de ◽  
F Ectors ◽  
F Dessy

The developmental potential of nuclei of bovine gonial cells was investigated by nuclear transfer. Gonial cells were collected from male fetuses at about 175 days post coitum (p.c.). They were fused with enucleated oocytes; reconstituted embryos were cultured in vitro for 7 days. Embryos reaching the compacted morula or blastocyst stage were either fixed for cell counting or transferred into recipients. Out of 115 oocyte-gonia fusions, 101 (87.8%) gave rise to cleaved embryos at Day 3 and 26 (22.6%) had reached the 8-cell stage. At Day 7, 1 (1%) developed to the morula stage and 5 (4%) reached the blastocyst stage. Three blastocysts were fixed and showed normal cell numbers (135; 90; 76 cells). Three blastocysts and one morula were transferred in four recipients; two recipients were pregnant at Day 21 but only one was positive at Day 35 p.c.; this last one aborted around Day 40 p.c. No conceptus was collected. These results indicate that gonial cell nuclei can be partially reprogrammed; they are able to develop into blastocysts and to initiate gestation. However, more experiments will be necessary to prove the nuclear totipotency of bovine gonial cells.


2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Liang Yan ◽  
Qi-En Yang ◽  
Guang-Bin Zhou ◽  
Yun-Peng Hou ◽  
Xue-Ming Zhao ◽  
...  

The present study was designed to investigate the cryotolerance of in vitro fertilised (IVF) mouse embryos at various preimplantation developmental stages. IVF mouse embryos were vitrified by the open-pulled straw (OPS) method. After warming, embryos were morphologically evaluated and assessed by their development to blastocysts, hatched blastocysts or term. The results showed that a high proportion (93.3–100.0%) of vitrified embryos at all developmental stages were morphologically normal after recovery. The developmental rate of vitrified 1-cell embryos to blastocyst (40.0%) or hatched blastocyst (32.7%) or term (9.3%) was significantly lower than that from other stages (P < 0.05). Vitrified embryos from 2-cell to early blastocyst stage showed similar blastocyst (71.8–89.5%) and hatched blastocyst rates (61.1–69.6%) and could develop to term without a significant loss of survival compared with those of fresh embryos (P > 0.05). Vitrified 2-cell embryos showed the highest survival rate in vivo (50.6%, 88/174), compared with that from other stages (9.3–30.5%, P < 0.05). The data demonstrate that the OPS method is suitable for the cryopreservation of IVF mouse embryos from 2-cell stage to early blastocyst stage without a significant loss of survival. Embryos at the 2-cell stage had the best tolerance for cryopreservation in the present study.


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