Article
Environmental Sciences
Chuanxin Zhang, Xueqi Dong, Xiaoyu Yin, Xinyi Yuan, Jiawei Wang, Jinzhu Song, Zhenzhen Hou, Cheng Li, Keliang Wu
Summary: 2-bromoacetamide (BAcAm), a new class of disinfection by-products (DBPs), is commonly found in drinking water worldwide. The high cytogenetic toxicity of BAcAm has raised concerns about its toxic effects on early embryonic development. In this study, we developed an optimized in vitro culture (IVC) system for peri-and early post-implantation mouse embryos and used it to assess the developmental toxicity of BAcAm. We observed that exposure to BAcAm led to a decrease in egg cylinder formation rate and aberrant lineage differentiation in a dose-dependent manner. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed that BAcAm exposure during early developmental stages affected the abundance of transcripts related to various biological processes, indicating its toxic effects on embryonic development. Therefore, this study provides a robust tool for studying the toxicology of chemicals during early embryonic development and highlights the developmental toxicity of BAcAm in mammals.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Shintaro Kamijo, Toshio Hamatani, Hiroyuki Sasaki, Hiroki Suzuki, Akane Abe, Osamu Inoue, Maki Iwai, Seiji Ogawa, Kei Odawara, Kanako Tanaka, Mutsumi Mikashima, Masami Suzuki, Kenji Miyado, Ryo Matoba, Yasushi Odawara, Mamoru Tanaka
Summary: By analyzing miRNAs in embryo culture medium, we generated a predictive model for embryo implantation success and identified a non-invasive evaluation method. The abundance levels of certain miRNAs in the culture medium were found to be associated with the quality of blastocysts and implantation success.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY AND ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Paula R. Chen, Bethany K. Redel, Karl C. Kerns, Lee D. Spate, Randall S. Prather
Summary: The review discusses the application of genetically modified pigs in animal agriculture and human medicine, focusing on the importance of in vitro production and manipulation of embryos. To improve porcine embryo culture systems, consideration of metabolic characteristics, comparisons with other mammalian species, and addressing stressors from environment and parental factors are essential. Progressing stepwise through in vitro oocyte maturation, fertilization, and embryo culture in pigs can help assess current systems and identify areas for improvement.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yu-Shih Chen, Tzu-Wei Lo, Hong-Yuan Huang, Lien-Min Li, Yi-Wen Wang, Da-Jeng Yao, Wen-Syang Hsu, Cheng-Hsien Liu
Summary: The combination of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and microfluidic technology offers a promising solution to infertility by enhancing the success rate of IVF and accelerating embryo growth and development. By utilizing a microfluidic embryo lab chip for co-cultivation, researchers observed faster embryo growth rates and higher blastocyst development rates compared to traditional culture methods.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2021)
Article
Reproductive Biology
Daniel Veraguas-Davila, Maria Francisca Cordero, Soledad Saez, Darling Saez-Ruiz, Alejandro Gonzalez, Fernando Saravia, Fidel Ovidio Castro, Lleretny Rodriguez-Alvarez
Summary: The study evaluated the effects of zona pellucida removal on the in vitro and in vivo development of domestic cat embryos. Results showed that removal of the zona pellucida negatively impacted gene expression and prevented successful implantation of the embryos.
Review
Obstetrics & Gynecology
James M. Kemper, Yanhe Liu, Masoud Afnan, Ben W. J. Mol, Dean E. Morbeck
Summary: There is a lack of evidence on embryos derived from oocytes without two pronuclei (2PN) or 'normal fertilization'. A significant difference exists between the development potential of oocytes with abnormal pronuclei and those with 2PN. Most recent studies focus on outcomes of blastocysts derived from non-2PN oocytes, suggesting that they have lower blastocyst rates and slightly reduced implantation potential compared to 2PN oocytes.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOMEDICINE ONLINE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Shang Wang, Irina Larina
Summary: Developmental biologists have used imaging techniques to study dynamic cellular events, but some processes like mammalian fertilization and embryogenesis are difficult to directly image. This study used intravital window and optical coherence tomography to observe the transport of oocytes and embryos through the mouse oviduct, revealing novel location-dependent movement patterns and questioning established views in the field. The in vivo imaging approach offers potential for investigating reproductive physiology with live functional analysis.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pin-Yao Lin, Chia-Yun Lin, Ni-Chin Tsai, Fu-Jen Huang, Hsin-Ju Chiang, Yu-Ju Lin, Yu-Ting Su, Kuo-Chung Lan
Summary: Extending the culture of morphologically poor embryos (MPEs) does not increase the live birth rate in fresh transfer cycles, but it results in significantly higher live birth rates when followed by frozen embryo transfer (FET) in younger females.
BIOMEDICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ayper Boga Pekmezekmek, Mustafa Emre, Seyda Erdogan, Bertan Yilmaz, Erdal Tunc, Yasar Sertdemir, Yilmaz Emre
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of high molecular weight polyvinyl chloride (HMW-PVC) on Xenopus laevis frogs and their embryos using the FETAX test. The results showed that HMW-PVC exposure caused malformations and decreased viability, with significant decreases in Hsp70 and Pax6 gene expression levels. Further research is needed to fully understand the effects of HMW-PVC exposure on X. laevis embryos.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Vera A. van der Weijden, Meret Schmidhauser, Mayuko Kurome, Johannes Knubben, Veronika L. Floter, Eckhard Wolf, Susanne E. Ulbrich
Summary: Our study found that in vivo developed and in vitro produced embryos show similar transcriptome profiles during development. Shared canonical pathways in transitions from 4-cell to morula included oxidative phosphorylation and EIF2 signaling, while shared pathways from morula to hatched blastocyst included 14-3-3-mediated signaling, xenobiotic metabolism general signaling pathway, and NRF2-mediated oxidative stress response. Hatched blastocysts from in vitro fertilization-pipeline exhibited molecular pathways associated with lower developmental competence compared to in vivo developed embryos.
Article
Cell Biology
Manuel Guthmann, Chen Qian, Irene Gialdini, Tsunetoshi Nakatani, Andreas Ettinger, Tamas Schauer, Igor Kukhtevich, Robert Schneider, Don C. Lamb, Adam Burton, Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla
Summary: In this study, Guthmann et al. demonstrate that pericentromeric heterochromatin undergoes phase separation and transition during early embryonic development in mice. They also show that weak hydrophobic interactions and ATRX recruitment influence the biophysical properties of heterochromatin and chromocenter maturation. These findings provide new insights into the self-organization of chromatin domains during mammalian embryogenesis.
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Zoltan Bognar, Timea Judith Csabai-Tanics, Eva Gorgey, Eva Miko, Zoltan Horvath-Szalai, Julia Szekeres-Bartho
Summary: The role of vitamin D (VD) in reproduction is still inconclusive. Calcitriol treatment at the time of FSH injection or at day 0.5 of pregnancy did not affect conception and implantation in mice, but had adverse effects on oocyte maturation and embryo development.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mingrui Yuan, Wenhua Li, Peng Xiao
Summary: In this study, exposure to BIX was found to induce cardiac toxicity in zebrafish embryos, leading to cardiac dysplasia and dysfunction. This toxicity was associated with decreased expression of erythropoiesis-related and cardiac development-related genes in response to BIX treatment. These findings highlight the potential environmental risks of BIX exposure.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Seung-Jae Lee, Jaehwan Kim, Gwidong Han, Seung-Pyo Hong, Dayeon Kim, Chunghee Cho
Summary: In this study, the researchers found that the E3 ubiquitin ligase LNX2 plays an important role in early embryonic development by regulating Notch signaling through the degradation of NUMB protein. Knockdown of LNX2 resulted in the majority of embryos failing to develop into normal blastocysts and increased expression levels of genes involved in cell lineage specification. These findings suggest that LNX2 may be involved in transcriptionally regulating various genes implicated in early embryonic development and may act via lineage specification of the inner cell mass.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sarah Johann, Mira Gossen, Leonie Mueller, Valentina Selja, Kim Gustavson, Janne Fritt-Rasmussen, Susse Wegeberg, Tomasz Maciej Ciesielski, Bjorn Munro Jenssen, Henner Hollert, Thomas-Benjamin Seiler
Summary: The study demonstrates that in comparison with the initial oil, ISB residues did not induce greater toxicity in zebrafish embryos, while the use of chemical dispersants increased acute toxicity.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)