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Cloned ferrets produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

ABSTRACT: Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) offers great potential for developing better animal models of human disease. The domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is an ideal animal model for influenza infections and potentially other human respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis, where mouse models have failed to reproduce the human disease phenotype. Here, we report the successful production of live cloned, reproductively competent, ferrets using species-specific SCNT methodologies. Critical to developing a successful SCNT protocol for the ferret was the finding that hormonal treatment, normally used for superovulation, adversely affected the developmental potential of recipient oocytes. The onset of Oct4 expression was delayed and incomplete in parthenogenetically activated oocytes collected from hormone-treated females relative to oocytes collected from females naturally mated with vasectomized males. Stimulation induced by mating and in vitro oocyte maturation produced the optimal oocyte recipient for SCNT. Although nuclear injection and cell fusion produced mid-term fetuses at equivalent rates (approximately 3-4%), only cell fusion gave rise to healthy surviving clones. Single cell fusion rates and the efficiency of SCNT were also enhanced by placing two somatic cells into the perivitelline space. These species-specific modifications facilitated the birth of live, healthy, and fertile cloned ferrets. The development of microsatellite genotyping for domestic ferrets confirmed that ferret clones were genetically derived from their respective somatic cells and unrelated to their surrogate mother. With this technology, it is now feasible to begin generating genetically defined ferrets for studying transmissible and inherited human lung diseases. Cloning of the domestic ferret may also aid in recovery and conservation of the endangered black-footed ferret and European mink.

SUBMITTER: Li Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1892907 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cloned ferrets produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Li Ziyi Z Sun Xingshen X Chen Juan J Liu Xiaoming X Wisely Samantha M SM Zhou Qi Q Renard Jean-Paul JP Leno Gregory H GH Engelhardt John F JF

Developmental biology 20060403 2

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) offers great potential for developing better animal models of human disease. The domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is an ideal animal model for influenza infections and potentially other human respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis, where mouse models have failed to reproduce the human disease phenotype. Here, we report the successful production of live cloned, reproductively competent, ferrets using species-specific SCNT methodologies. Critical t ...[more]

PMID: 16584722

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Project description:BACKGROUND: The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the cloned sheep "Dolly" and nine other ovine clones produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) was reported to consist only of recipient oocyte mtDNA without any detectable mtDNA contribution from the nucleus donor cell. In cattle, mouse and pig several or most of the clones showed transmission of nuclear donor mtDNA resulting in mitochondrial heteroplasmy. To clarify the discrepant transmission pattern of donor mtDNA in sheep clones we analysed the mtDNA composition of seven fetuses and five lambs cloned from fetal fibroblasts. RESULTS: The three fetal fibroblast donor cells used for SCNT harboured low mtDNA copy numbers per cell (A: 753 +/- 54, B: 292 +/- 33 and C: 561 +/- 88). The ratio of donor to recipient oocyte mtDNAs was determined using a quantitative amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) PCR (i.e. ARMS-qPCR). For quantification of SNP variants with frequencies below 0.1% we developed a restriction endonuclease-mediated selective quantitative PCR (REMS-qPCR). We report the first cases (n = 4 fetuses, n = 3 lambs) of recipient oocyte/nuclear donor mtDNA heteroplasmy in SCNT-derived ovine clones demonstrating that there is no species-effect hindering ovine nucleus-donor mtDNA from being transmitted to the somatic clonal offspring. Most of the heteroplasmic clones exhibited low-level heteroplasmy (0.1% to 0.9%, n = 6) indicating neutral transmission of parental mtDNAs. High-level heteroplasmy (6.8% to 46.5%) was observed in one case. This clone possessed a divergent recipient oocyte-derived mtDNA genotype with three rare amino acid changes compared to the donor including one substitution at an evolutionary conserved site. CONCLUSION: Our study using state-of-the-art techniques for mtDNA quantification, like ARMS-qPCR and the novel REMS-qPCR, documents for the first time the transmission of donor mtDNA into somatic sheep clones. MtDNA heteroplasmy was detected in seven of 12 clones tested, whereby all but one case revealed less than 1% mtDNA contribution from the nuclear donor cell suggesting neutral segregation.

Project description:Although somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) cloning is more efficient in bovine than in all other species tested so far, there is a high rate of pregnancy failure that has been linked to structural and functional abnormalities of the placenta. We tested the hypothesis that these changes may originate from disturbed embryo-maternal interactions in the pre-implantation period. Therefore, we evaluated the transcriptome response of the endometrium to SCNT embryos (produced from five different donor cell cultures) as compared to embryos derived from in vitro fertilization (IVF). SCNT embryos and IVF embryos were cultured under identical conditions to the blastocyst stage (Day 8) and transferred to recipients. The recipients were slaughtered at day 18 of pregnancy and the uterus was recovered. Pregnancy was verified by the presence of at least one normally developed embryo. Transcriptome profiling of endometrium samples using a custom cDNA microarray covering transcripts expressed in the endometrium and/or oviduct epithelium revealed 58 transcripts that were differently abundant between endometrium samples from SCNT vs. IVF pregnancies. Prominent examples are NR2F2 (encoding the orphan nuclear receptor COUP-TFII) and GJA1 (encoding connexin 43). Both transcripts are known to play important roles in placentation and were significantly less abundant in endometrium from SCNT vs. IVF pregnancies. These findings suggest that placental failure in bovine clone pregnancies may originate from abnormal embryo-maternal communication already in the pre- or peri-implantation period. Endometrium transcriptome profiles may serve as a novel readout to evaluate SCNT embryos for their ability to induce pregnancy with a functional placenta. Keywords: response to different embryos Nineteen German Fleckvieh (Simmental) heifers were slaughtered at day 18 of pregnancy. Cycle-synchronized recipient heifers received either IVP or SCNT embryos at day 7 of the estrous cycle. Animals were slaughtered at day 18. Endometrial (intercaruncular) tissue samples were obtained from 10 pregnant animals after transfer of IVP embryos and from 9 pregnant animals after transfer of SCNT embryos.

Project description:BackgroundCloning of cattle by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is associated with a high incidence of pregnancy failure characterized by abnormal placental and foetal development. These abnormalities are thought to be due, in part, to incomplete re-setting of the epigenetic state of DNA in the donor somatic cell nucleus to a state that is capable of driving embryonic and foetal development to completion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that DNA methylation patterns were not appropriately established during nuclear reprogramming following SCNT. A panel of imprinted, non-imprinted genes and satellite repeat sequences was examined in tissues collected from viable and failing mid-gestation SCNT foetuses and compared with similar tissues from gestation-matched normal foetuses generated by artificial insemination (AI).ResultsMost of the genomic regions examined in tissues from viable and failing SCNT foetuses had DNA methylation patterns similar to those in comparable tissues from AI controls. However, statistically significant differences were found between SCNT and AI at specific CpG sites in some regions of the genome, particularly those associated with SNRPN and KCNQ1OT1, which tended to be hypomethylated in SCNT tissues. There was a high degree of variation between individuals in methylation levels at almost every CpG site in these two regions, even in AI controls. In other genomic regions, methylation levels at specific CpG sites were tightly controlled with little variation between individuals. Only one site (HAND1) showed a tissue-specific pattern of DNA methylation. Overall, DNA methylation patterns in tissues of failing foetuses were similar to apparently viable SCNT foetuses, although there were individuals showing extreme deviant patterns.ConclusionThese results show that SCNT foetuses that had developed to mid-gestation had largely undergone nuclear reprogramming and that the epigenetic signature at this stage was not a good predictor of whether the foetus would develop to term or not.

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Cloned ferrets produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

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Cloned ferrets produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer.

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