Lipid stores and lipid metabolism associated gene expression in porcine and bovine parthenogenetic embryos revealed by immunostaining and RNA-seq [Ss]
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ABSTRACT: Compared to other mammalian species, porcine oocytes and embryos are characterized by large amounts of lipids stored mainly in the form of droplets in the cytoplasm. The amount and the morphology of LD change throughout the preimplantation development however, relatively little is known about expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism of early embryos. We compared porcine and bovine blastocyst stage embryos as well as dissected inner cell mass (ICM) and trophoblast (TE) cell populations with regard to lipid droplet storage and expression of genes functionally annotated to selected lipid Gene Ontology terms using RNA-seq. Comparing the number and the volume occupied by LD between bovine and porcine blastocysts, we have found significant differences both at the level of single embryo and a single blastomere. Aside from different lipid content we found that embryos regulate the lipid metabolism differentially at the gene expression level. Out of 125 genes, we have found 73 to be differentially expressed between entire porcine and bovine blastocyst, and 36 and 51 to be divergent between ICM and TE cell lines. We noticed significant involvement of cholesterol and ganglioside metabolism in preimplantation embryos as well as possible shift towards glucose rather than pyruvate dependence in bovine embryos. A number of genes like DGAT1, CD36 or NR1H3 may serve as lipid associated markers indicating distinct regulatory mechanisms while upregulated PLIN2, APOA1, SOAT1 indicate significant function during blastocyst formation and cell differentiation in both models.
Project description:Compared to other mammalian species, porcine oocytes and embryos are characterized by large amounts of lipids stored mainly in the form of droplets in the cytoplasm. The amount and the morphology of LD change throughout the preimplantation development however, relatively little is known about expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism of early embryos. We compared porcine and bovine blastocyst stage embryos as well as dissected inner cell mass (ICM) and trophoblast (TE) cell populations with regard to lipid droplet storage and expression of genes functionally annotated to selected lipid Gene Ontology terms using RNA-seq. Comparing the number and the volume occupied by LD between bovine and porcine blastocysts, we have found significant differences both at the level of single embryo and a single blastomere. Aside from different lipid content we found that embryos regulate the lipid metabolism differentially at the gene expression level. Out of 125 genes, we have found 73 to be differentially expressed between entire porcine and bovine blastocyst, and 36 and 51 to be divergent between ICM and TE cell lines. We noticed significant involvement of cholesterol and ganglioside metabolism in preimplantation embryos as well as possible shift towards glucose rather than pyruvate dependence in bovine embryos. A number of genes like DGAT1, CD36 or NR1H3 may serve as lipid associated markers indicating distinct regulatory mechanisms while upregulated PLIN2, APOA1, SOAT1 indicate significant function during blastocyst formation and cell differentiation in both models.
Project description:Mammalian preimplantation development involves highly conserved genetic programs across species. However, temporal differences in gene network activation and membership differences in gene modules are also observed. In this study, we focus on understanding the activation of crucial gene networks in trophoectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass across species using human, monkey, and mouse models. By single cell RNA sequencing analysis in cynomolgus monkey early embryos, we find relatively late major embryonic genome activation occurring at early morula stages. Gene network preservation analysis reveals that genetic programs in monkey embryos more closely resemble human embryos compared to mouse, supporting the notion that preimplantation development in primate species are divergent from rodent species. For example, primate blastocysts show differential expression of ICM and TE genes such as X and Y, whereas mouse show differences in A and B expression. Interestingly, the overall conservation of TE gene networks is higher than ICM across three species, suggesting a more conserved developmental program in TE lineage differentiation. Additionally, TE-specific gene networks are exclusively activated at the blastocyst stage with low or no expression in morula or earlier embryos. In contrast, a majority of ICM-specific genes are strongly activated during the first major wave of EGA, which are further fine-tuned during late morula and blastocyst stages. Taken together, our study provides new insight into mammalian preimplantation development and sequential activation of lineage-specific genetic programs of TE versus ICM.
Project description:The first lineage differentiation in mammals gives rise to the inner cell mass (ICM) and the trophectoderm (TE). In mice, TEAD4 is a master regulator of TE commitment, as it regulates the expression of other TE-specific genes and its ablation prevents blastocyst formation, but its role in other mammals remains unclear. TEAD4 ablation in bovine embryos did not impede TE differentiation or blastocyst formation, but a transcriptomic analysis was performed to see if there were any transcriptomic anomalies in knockout embryos.
Project description:Preimplantation stages of mouse embryo development involve temporal and spatial specification and segregation of three late blastocyst cell lineages; trophectoderm (TE), primitive endoderm (PrE) and epiblast (EPI). Spatial separation of the outer TE lineage from the two inner-cell-mass (ICM) lineages (PrE and EPI) starts with the 8- to 16-cell transition and concludes following transit through the 16- to 32-cell stages. This results in a nascent early blastocyst ICM derived from descendants of primary founding inner cells and a secondarily contributed population; of which subsequent relative EPI versus PrE potencies are subject to debate. We showed that generation of primary but not the secondary ICM populations is highly dependent on temporally discreet activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR – specifically mTORC1) around 8-cell stage M-phase entry. Moreover, that this role is mediated via the regulated function of the 7-methylguanosine- (7mG) cap binding initiation complex (EIF4F) and potentiating the translation of a subset of key but otherwise intransigent mRNAs containing 5’ UTR terminal oligopyrimidine (TOP-) sequence motifs. To find out translation of which mRNAs is regulated by mTOR during 8- to 16-cell transition, we analysed proteomes of control and mTOR-inhibited embryos during this time window.
Project description:Proper lineage specification is extremely important for the embryo's implantation and development. Numerous findings of lineage specification emerged in the mouse embryo but remain unclear in the bovine embryo due to the limited techniques. Here, our study is the first to demonstrate that the single base editor (ABE7.10 and BE3) can be applied to bovine embryos for base conversion, which contributes us to further exploring the lineage specification of the bovine embryo. We further show SOX2 is not necessary for blastocyst formation but is required for ICM maintenance in bovine early embryo development. The underlying mechanism may be that SOX2 promoted the differentiation of ICM by maintaining the expression levels of OCT4 and NANOG. Meanwhile, the disappearance of SOX2 in TE of bovine late blastocyst depended on the expression of CDX2.
Project description:Aneuploidy has been well documented in blastocyst embryos, but prior studies have been limited in scale and/or lack mechanistic data. We previously reported preclinical validation of microarray 24-chromosome preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in a 24-hour protocol. The method diagnoses chromosome copy number, structural chromosome aberrations, parental source of aneuploidy, and distinguishes certain meiotic from mitotic errors. In this study our objective was to examine aneuploidy in human blastocysts and determine correspondence of karyotypes between trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM). We disaggregated 51 blastocysts from seventeen couples into ICM and one or two TE fractions. The average maternal age was 31. Next, we ran 24-chromosome microarray molecular karyotyping on all of the samples, and then performed a retrospective analysis of the data. The average per-chromosome confidence was 99.95%. Approximately 80% of blastocysts were euploid. The majority of aneuploid embryos were simple aneuploid, i.e., one or two whole-chromosome imbalances. Structural chromosome aberrations, which are common in cleavage stage embryos, occurred in only three blastocysts (5.8%). All TE biopsies derived from the same embryos were concordant. Forty-nine of fifty-one (96.1%) inner cell mass (ICM) samples were concordant with TE biopsies derived from the same embryos. Discordance between TE and ICM occurred only in the two embryos with structural chromosome aberration. We conclude that trophectoderm karyotype is an excellent predictor of inner cell mass karyotype. Discordance between TE and ICM occurred only in embryos with structural chromosome aberrations.
Project description:In the preimplantation mouse embryo TEAD4 is critical to establishing the trophectoderm (TE)-specific transcriptional program and segregating TE from the inner cell mass (ICM). However, TEAD4 is expressed both in the TE and the ICM. Thus, differential function of TEAD4 rather than expression itself regulates specification of the first two cell lineages. We used ChIP-seq to define genome-wide TEAD4 target genes and asked how transcription of TEAD4 target genes is specifically maintained in the TE. Our analyses revealed an evolutionarily conserved mechanism, in which lack of nuclear localization of TEAD4 impairs the TE-specific transcriptional program in inner blastomeres, thereby allowing their maturation towards the ICM lineage. Restoration of TEAD4 nuclear localization maintains the TE-specific transcriptional program in the inner blastomeres and prevents segregation of the TE and ICM lineages and blastocyst formation. We propose that altered subcellular localization of TEAD4 in blastomeres dictates first mammalian cell fate specification. ChIPseq profiles of TEAD4, IgG, Input in Mouse trophoblast stem cells using Illumina HiSeq 2000 and Illumina Genome Analyzer IIx
Project description:Genes and signaling pathways involved in pluripotency have been studied extensively in mouse and human pre-implantation embryos and embryonic stem (ES) cells. The unsuccessful attempts to generate ES cell lines from other species including cattle suggests that other genes and pathways are involved in maintaining pluripotency in these species. To investigate which genes are involved in bovine pluripotency, expression profiles were generated from morula, blastocyst, trophectoderm and inner cell mass (ICM) samples using microarray analysis. As MAPK inhibition can increase the NANOG/GATA6 ratio in the inner cell mass, additionally blastocysts were cultured in the presence of a MAPK inhibitor and changes in gene expression in the inner cell mass were analyzed. Between morula and blastocyst 3,774 genes were differentially expressed and the largest differences were found in blastocyst up-regulated genes. Gene ontology (GO) analysis shows lipid metabolic process as the term most enriched with genes expressed at higher levels in blastocysts. Genes with higher expression levels in morulae were enriched in the RNA processing GO term. Of the 497 differentially expressed genes comparing ICM and TE the expression of NANOG, SOX2 and POU5F1 was indeed increased in the ICM confirming their evolutionary preserved role in pluripotency. Several genes implicated to be involved in differentiation or fate determination were also expressed at higher levels in the ICM. Genes expressed at higher levels in the ICM were enriched in the RNA splicing and regulation of gene expression GO term. Although NANOG expression was elevated upon MAPK inhibition, SOX2 and POU5F1 expression showed little increase. Expression of other genes in the MAPK pathway including DUSP4 and SPRY4, or influenced by MAPK inhibition such as IFNT, was affected. The data obtained from the microarray studies provide further insight in gene expression during bovine embryonic development. They show an expression profile in pluripotent cells that indicates a pluripotent but epiblast-like state. These data indicate that MAPK inhibition alone is not sufficient to maintain a pluripotent character in bovine cells. Microarrays used were bovine whole genome gene expression microarrays V2 (Agilent Technologies) representing 43,653 Bos taurus 60-mer oligos in a 4x44K layout. RNA samples from morula, blastocyst and dissected inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) were compared in a common reference experiment design using 8 dual channel microarrays with each sample hybridized against an identical sample consisting of a pool of blastocysts total RNA. Within each group of two microarrays for each stage/tissue type, sample versus common reference hybridizations were performed in balanced dye-swap.
Project description:Profiles of H3K4me3, H3K27ac, H3K27me3 and H3K9me3 in bovine GV oocytes and preimplantation embryos, and the characterization of chromatin accessibility in bovine blastocyst, inner cell mass and trophectoderm.
Project description:This study describes the generation and analysis of the transcriptional profile of bovine inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE), obtained from in vivo developed embryos by using a bovine-embryo specific array (EmbryoGENE) containing 37,238 probes.