scholarly journals Single-cell analysis of human embryos reveals diverse patterns of aneuploidy and mosaicism

Author(s):  
Margaret R. Starostik ◽  
Olukayode A. Sosina ◽  
Rajiv C. McCoy

AbstractLess than half of human zygotes survive to live birth, primarily due to aneuploidies of meiotic or mitotic origin. Mitotic errors lead to chromosomal mosaicism, defined by multiple cell lineages with distinct chromosome complements. The incidence and fitness consequences of chromosomal mosaicism in human embryos remain controversial, with most previous studies based on bulk DNA assays or comparisons of multiple biopsies of a few embryonic cells. Single-cell genomic data provide an opportunity to quantify mosaicism on an embryo-wide scale. To this end, we extended an approach to infer aneuploidies based on chromosome dosage-associated changes in gene expression by integrating signatures of allelic imbalance. We applied this method to published single-cell RNA sequencing data from 74 disaggregated human embryos, spanning the morula to blastocyst stages. Our analysis revealed widespread mosaic aneuploidies across preimplantation development, with 59 of 74 (80%) embryos harboring at least one aneuploid cell (1% FDR). By clustering copy number calls, we reconstructed histories of chromosome mis-segregation, distinguishing meiotic and early mitotic errors from those occurring after lineage differentiation. We observed no significant enrichment of aneuploid cells in the trophectoderm compared to the inner cell mass, though we do detect such an enrichment in published data from later post-implantation stages. Finally, we observed that aneuploid cells exhibit upregulation of immune response genes, as well as downregulation of genes involved in proliferation, metabolism, and protein processing, consistent with stress responses previously documented in other stages and systems. Together, our work provides a high-resolution view of aneuploidy in preimplantation embryos and supports the conclusion that low-level mosaicism is a common feature of early human development.

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Daughtry ◽  
J. L. Rosenkrantz ◽  
N. Lazar ◽  
N. Redmayne ◽  
K. A. Nevonen ◽  
...  

A primary contributor to in vitro fertilization (IVF) failure is the presence of unbalanced chromosomes in pre-implantation embryos. Previous array-based and next-generation sequencing (NGS) studies determined that ~50 to 80% of human embryos are aneuploid at the cleavage stage. During early mitotic divisions, many human embryos also sequester mis-segregated chromosomes into micronuclei and concurrently undergo cellular fragmentation. We hypothesised that cellular fragmentation represents a response to mis-segregated chromosomes that are encapsulated into micronuclei. Here, we utilised the rhesus macaque pre-implantation embryo as a model to study human embryonic aneuploidy using a combination of EevaTM time-lapse imaging for evaluating cell divisions, single-cell/-fragment DNA-Sequencing (DNA-Seq), and confocal microscopy of nuclear structures. Results from our time-lapse image analysis demonstrated that there are considerable differences in the timing of the first and third mitotic divisions between rhesus blastocysts and those that arrested before this stage in development (P < 0.01; ANOVA). By examining the chromosome content of each blastomere from cleavage stage embryos via DNA-Seq, we determined that rhesus embryos have an aneuploidy frequency up to ~62% (N = 26) with several embryos exhibiting chromosomal mosaicism between blastomeres (N = 6). Certain blastomeres also exhibited reciprocal whole chromosomal gains or losses, indicating that these embryos had undergone mitotic non-disjunction early in development. In addition, findings of reciprocal sub-chromosomal deletions/duplications among blastomeres suggest that chromosomal breakage had occurred in some embryos as well. Embryo immunostaining for the nuclear envelope protein, LAMIN-B1, demonstrated that fragmented cleavage-stage rhesus embryos often contain micronuclei and that cellular fragments can enclose DNA. Our DNA-Seq analysis confirmed that cellular fragments might encapsulate whole and/or partial chromosomes lost from blastomeres. When embryos were immunostained with gamma-H2AX, a marker of chromatin fragility, we observed distinct foci solely in micronuclei and DNA-containing cellular fragments. This suggests that micronuclei may be ejected from blastomeres through the process of cellular fragmentation and, once sequestered, these mis-segregated chromosomes become highly unstable and undergo DNA degradation. Finally, we also observed that ~10% of embryos prevented cellular fragments or large blastomeres from incorporating into the inner cell mass or trophectoderm at the blastocyst stage (n = 5). Upon confocal imaging, multiple nuclei and intense gamma-H2AX foci were found in a large unincorporated blastomere in one of the blastocysts. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that the rhesus embryo responds to segregation errors by eliminating chromosome-containing micronuclei via cellular fragmentation and/or selecting against aneuploid blastomeres that fail to divide during pre-implantation development with significant implications for human IVF.


Biology Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sapna Chhabra ◽  
Aryeh Warmflash

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) possess an immense potential to generate clinically relevant cell types and unveil mechanisms underlying early human development. However, using hESCs for discovery or translation requires accurately identifying differentiated cell types through comparison with their in vivo counterparts. Here, we set out to determine the identity of much debated BMP-treated hESCs by comparing their transcriptome to recently published single cell transcriptomic data from early human embryos (Xiang et al., 2019). Our analyses reveal several discrepancies in the published human embryo dataset, including misclassification of putative amnion, intermediate and inner cell mass cells. These misclassifications primarily resulted from similarities in pseudogene expression, highlighting the need to carefully consider gene lists when making comparisons between cell types. In the absence of a relevant human dataset, we utilized the recently published single cell transcriptome of the early post implantation monkey embryo to discern the identity of BMP-treated hESCs. Our results suggest that BMP-treated hESCs are transcriptionally more similar to amnion cells than trophectoderm cells in the monkey embryo. Together with prior studies, this result indicates that hESCs possess a unique ability to form mature trophectoderm subtypes via an amnion-like transcriptional state.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Huang ◽  
Qiao Zeng ◽  
Yun Feng ◽  
Youjin Hu ◽  
Qin An ◽  
...  

AbstractIn mammals, female cells are obliged to inactivate one of two X chromosomes to achieve dosage parity with the single X chromosome in male cells, and it is also thought that the single active X chromosome is increased 2-fold to achieve dosage balance with two sets of autosomes (X:A ratio = 1, or Ohno’s hypothesis). However, the ontogeny of X-chromosome inactivation and augmentation of the single active X remains unclear during human embryogenesis. Here, we perform single-cell RNA-seq analysis to examine the timing of X:A balancing and X-inactivation (XCI) in pre- and peri-implantation human embryos up to fourteen days in culture. We find that X-chromosome gene expression in both male and female preimplantation embryos is approximately balanced with autosomes (X:A ratio = 1) after embryonic genome activation (EGA) and persists through fourteen days in vitro. Cross-species analysis of preimplantation embryo also show balanced X:A ratio within the first few days of development. By single-cell mRNA SNP profiling, we find XCI beginning in day 6-7 blastocyst embryos, but does not affect X:A dosage balance. XCI is most evident in trophoectoderm (TE) cells, but can also be observed in a small number of inner cell mass (ICM)-derived cells including primitive endoderm (PE) and epiblast (EPI) cells. Analysis between individual XaXa and XaXi sister cells from the same embryo reveals random XCI and persistently balanced X:A ratio, including sister cells transitioning between XaXa and XaXi states. We therefore conclude that the male X-chromosome undergoes X chromosome augmentation prior to the simultaneous X-chromosome inactivation and augmentation in females. Together, our data demonstrate an evolutionally conserved model of X chromosome dosage compensation in humans and other mammalian species.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sapna Chhabra ◽  
Aryeh Warmflash

AbstractHuman embryonic stem cells (hESCs) possess an immense potential to generate clinically relevant cell types and unveil mechanisms underlying early human development. However, using hESCs for discovery or translation requires accurately identifying differentiated cell types through comparison with their in vivo counterparts. Here, we set out to determine the identity of much debated BMP-treated hESCs by comparing their transcriptome to the recently published single cell transcriptomes of early human embryos in the study Xiang et al 2019. Our analyses reveal several discrepancies in the published human embryo dataset, including misclassification of putative amnion, intermediate and inner cell mass cells. These misclassifications primarily resulted from similarities in pseudogene expression, highlighting the need to carefully consider gene lists when making comparisons between cell types. In the absence of a relevant human dataset, we utilized the recently published single cell transcriptome of the early post implantation monkey embryo to discern the identity of BMP-treated hESCs. Our results suggest that BMP-treated hESCs are transcriptionally more similar to amnion cells than trophectoderm cells in the monkey embryo. Together with prior studies, this result indicates that hESCs possess a unique ability to form mature trophectoderm subtypes via an amnion-like transcriptional state.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliano G Stirparo ◽  
Thorsten Boroviak ◽  
Ge Guo ◽  
Jennifer Nichols ◽  
Austin Smith ◽  
...  

AbstractSingle-cell profiling techniques create opportunities to delineate cell fate progression in mammalian development. Recent studies provide transcriptome data from human preimplantation embryos, in total comprising nearly 2000 individual cells. Interpretation of these data is confounded by biological factors such as variable embryo staging and cell-type ambiguity, as well as technical challenges in the collective analysis of datasets produced with different sample preparation and sequencing protocols. Here we address these issues to assemble a complete gene expression time course spanning human preimplantation embryogenesis. We identify key transcriptional features over developmental time and elucidate lineage-specific regulatory networks. We resolve post hoc cell-type assignment in the blastocyst, and define robust transcriptional prototypes that capture epiblast and primitive endoderm lineages. Examination of human pluripotent stem cell transcriptomes in this framework identifies culture conditions that sustain a naïve state pertaining to the inner cell mass. Our approach thus clarifies understanding both of lineage segregation in the early human embryo and of in vitro stem cell identity, and provides an analytical resource for comparative molecular embryology.


Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 1353-1361
Author(s):  
J.M. Baltz ◽  
J.D. Biggers ◽  
C. Lechene

Most cell types are relatively impermeant to H+ and are able to regulate their intracellular pH by means of plasma membrane proteins, which transport H+ or bicarbonate across the membrane in response to perturbations of intracellular pH. Mouse preimplantation embryos at the 2-cell stage, however, do not appear to possess specific pH-regulatory mechanisms for relieving acidosis. They are, instead, highly permeable to H+, so that the intracellular pH in the acid and neutral range is determined by the electrochemical equilibrium of H+ across the plasma membrane. When intracellular pH is perturbed, the rate of the ensuing H+ flux across the plasma membrane is determined by the H+ electrochemical gradient: its dependence on external K+ concentration indicates probable dependence on membrane potential and the rate depends on the H+ concentration gradient across the membrane. The large permeability at the 2-cell stage is absent or greatly diminished in the trophectoderm of blastocysts, but still present in the inner cell mass. Thus, the permeability to H+ appears to be developmentally regulated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasumitsu Masuda ◽  
Ryo Hasebe ◽  
Yasushi Kuromi ◽  
Masayoshi Kobayashi ◽  
Kanako Urataki ◽  
...  

Conception rates for transferred bovine embryos are lower than those for artificial insemination. Embryo transfer (ET) is widely used in cattle but many of the transferred embryos fail to develop, thus, a more effective method for selecting bovine embryos suitable for ET is required. To evaluate the developmental potential of bovine preimplantation embryos (2-cell stage embryos and blastocysts), we have used the non-invasive method of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to obtain live images. The images were used to evaluate 22 parameters of blastocysts, such as the volume of the inner cell mass and the thicknesses of the trophectoderm (TE). Bovine embryos were obtained by in vitro fertilization (IVF) of the cumulus-oocyte complexes aspirated by ovum pick-up from Japanese Black cattle. The quality of the blastocysts was examined under an inverted microscope and all were confirmed to be Code1 according to the International Embryo Transfer Society standards for embryo evaluation. The OCT images of embryos were taken at the 2-cell and blastocyst stages prior to the transfer. In OCT, the embryos were irradiated with near-infrared light for a few minutes to capture three-dimensional images. Nuclei of the 2-cell stage embryos were clearly observed by OCT, and polynuclear cells at the 2-cell stage were also clearly found. With OCT, we were able to observe embryos at the blastocyst stage and evaluate their parameters. The conception rate following OCT (15/30; 50%) is typical for ETs and no newborn calves showed neonatal overgrowth or died, indicating that the OCT did not adversely affect the ET. A principal components analysis was unable to identify the parameters associated with successful pregnancy, while by using hierarchical clustering analysis, TE volume has been suggested to be one of the parameters for the evaluation of bovine embryo. The present results show that OCT imaging can be used to investigate time-dependent changes of IVF embryos. With further improvements, it should be useful for selecting high-quality embryos for transfer.


Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 743-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.E. Collins ◽  
J.E. Lorimer ◽  
D.R. Garrod ◽  
S.C. Pidsley ◽  
R.S. Buxton ◽  
...  

The molecular mechanisms regulating the biogenesis of the first desmosomes to form during mouse embryogenesis have been studied. A sensitive modification of a reverse transcriptase-cDNA amplification procedure has been used to detect transcripts of the desmosomal adhesive cadherin, desmocollin. Sequencing of cDNA amplification products confirmed that two splice variants, a and b, of the DSC2 gene are transcribed coordinately. Transcripts were identified in unfertilized eggs and cumulus cells and in cleavage stages up to the early 8-cell stage, were never detected in compact 8-cell embryos, but were evident again either from the 16-cell morula or very early blastocyst (approx 32-cells) stages onwards. These two phases of transcript detection indicate DSC2 is encoded by maternal and embryonic genomes. Previously, we have shown that desmocollin protein synthesis is undetectable in eggs and cleavage stages but initiates at the early blastocyst stage when desmocollin localises at, and appears to regulate assembly of, nascent desmosomes that form in the trophectoderm but not in the inner cell mass (Fleming, T. P., Garrod, D. R. and Elsmore, A. J. (1991), Development 112, 527–539). Maternal DSC2 mRNA is therefore not translated and presumably is inherited by blastomeres before complete degradation. Our results suggest, however, that initiation of embryonic DSC2 transcription regulates desmocollin protein expression and thereby desmosome formation. Moreover, data from blastocyst single cell analyses suggest that embryonic DSC2 transcription is specific to the trophectoderm lineage. Inhibition of E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion did not influence the timing of DSC2 embryonic transcription and protein expression. However, isolation and culture of inner cell masses induced an increase in the amount of DSC2 mRNA and protein detected. Taken together, these results suggest that the presence of a contact-free cell surface activates DSC2 transcription in the mouse early embryo.


Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 815-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.B. Rogers ◽  
B.A. Hosler ◽  
L.J. Gudas

We have previously isolated a cDNA clone for a gene whose expression is reduced by retinoic acid (RA) treatment of F9 embryonal carcinoma cells. The nucleotide sequence indicated that this gene, Rex-1, encodes a zinc-finger protein and thus may be a transcriptional regulator. The Rex-1 message level is high in two lines of embryonic stem cells (CCE and D3) and is reduced when D3 cells are induced to differentiate using four different growth conditions. As expected for a stem-cell-specific message, Rex-1 mRNA is present in the inner cell mass (ICM) of the day 4.5 mouse blastocyst. It is also present in the polar trophoblast of the blastocyst. One and two days later, Rex-1 message is found in the ectoplacental cone and extraembryonic ectoderm of the egg cylinder (trophoblast-derived tissues), but its abundance is much reduced in the embryonic ectoderm which is directly descended from the ICM. Rex-1 is expressed in the day 18 placenta (murine gestation is 18 days), a tissue which is largely derived from trophoblast. The only tested adult tissue that contains detectable amounts of Rex-1 mRNA is the testis. In situ hybridization and northern analyses of RNA from germ-cell-deficient mouse testis and stage-specific germ cell preparations suggest that Rex-1 expression is limited to spermatocytes (germ cells undergoing meiosis). These results suggest that Rex-1 is involved in trophoblast development and spermatogenesis, and is a useful marker for studies of early cell fate determination in the ICM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Zhigalina ◽  
N Skryabin ◽  
O Kanbekova ◽  
V Artyukhova ◽  
A Svetlakov ◽  
...  

Abstract Study question Does the molecular karyotype of the cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from the blastocyst fluid (BF) can predict the efficiency of self-correction of karyotype of preimplantation embryo? Summary answer Detection of aneuploidies in the BF potentially can point out on effective self-correction of blastocyst karyotype and consequently on high developmental potential of mosaic embryos. What is known already Correction of aneuploidies in the preimplantation embryos can be provided by several mechanisms, including apoptosis. The predominant death of aneuploid cells was demonstrated in mouse embryos (Bolton, 2016). A positive correlation was also shown between the concentration of cfDNA from the BF of human blastocyst and the morphology of the embryo, as well as between the activity of caspase–3 and the concentration of cfDNA (Rule, 2018). The incidence of failed amplification after WGA being significantly higher among euploid blastocysts (Magli, 2019). The capacity of abnormal cells extruding into the BF would be related to the embryo development potential (Gianaroli, 2019). Study design, size, duration This is a prospective observational study of thirty-one Day 5 human blastocysts. Cryopreserved blastocysts were received after treatment cycles at the IVF Center with informed consent obtained from couples. The average age of 15 women was 32.25±5 years. The morphological characteristics of blastocysts were estimated in accordance with the Gardner classification (Gardner, Schoolcraft, 1999). The procedure of BF aspiration and trophectoderm (TE) and ICM cells separation of the blastocysts was previously described (Tsuiko, 2018). Participants/materials, setting, methods WGA was performed by PicoPLEX kit (Rubicon Genomics, USA) or REPLI-g Mini kit (Qiagen) according to manufacturer’s protocols. The DNA of the BF, ICM and TE were analyzed separately using cCGH, aCGH and NGS. SurePrint G3 Human CGH Microarrays (8x60K, Agilent Technologies) were used according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Image analysis was done using ISIS (v.5.5) (Metasystems) and Agilent CytoGenomics Software (v.3). VeriSeq™ PGS Kit - MiSeq® System (Illumina) was used for NGS. Main results and the role of chance Molecular karyotypes of all three samples - BF, ICM and TE, were obtained for 23 (74.2%) blastocysts. A correlation between the woman’s age and the number of aneuploidies in cfDNA (p = 0.0009) was found. A positive correlation may indicate that the number of aneuploidies in the embryonic cells increases with the age of a woman, however, the embryonic karyotype undergoes self-correcting through the elimination of aneuploid cells. It was noted that well-developing blastocysts (groups 4–5, according to Gardner’s classification) had fewer aneuploidies in ICM (p = 0.0141) and TE (p = 0.0436). In contrast, there was a tendency to an increase in the number of aneuploidies in the BF during blastocysts transition from stage 3 to 5 (p = 0.3542). We assessed the relationship between the number of aneuploidies in groups of blastocysts with different characteristics of ICM (groups “A” and “B” according to Gardner’s classification). These groups significantly differ in the number of aneuploidies in cfDNA (p = 0.0352), although the statistically significant differences between the number of aneuploidies in ICM (p = 0.5992) and in TE (p = 0.5934) was not detected. Thus, higher-quality embryos in terms of ICM morphology contain more abnormalities in the BF, since in this group the elimination of aneuploid cells is more efficient. Limitations, reasons for caution The number of embryos is limited in this study. More comprehensive studies are required to confirm the observed tendency. Wider implications of the findings: Aneuploid cells elimination can be a cause of increasing cfDNA concentration in the BF, which may be a marker of the viability of mosaic embryos when it is necessary to decide on mosaic embryo transfer. This study was supported by the RFBR (15–04–08265) and by the RSF (20–74–00064). Trial registration number Not applicable


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