16 Embryo aggregation and adipose-derived mesenchymal donor cells in bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
V. Alberio ◽  
V. Savy ◽  
G. Vans Landschoot ◽  
L. N. Moro ◽  
F. D. Olea ◽  
...  

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a powerful tool, but its efficiency remains low. The use of less differentiated donor cells or the embryo aggregation (EA) strategy improves the SCNT rates in several species. It remains unexplored whether the combined use of both strategies results in a synergistic effect that improves SCNT efficiency in bovine. To evaluate that, we assessed the optimal time of EA using IVF embryos (aim 1) and we evaluated whether the use of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASC) as donor for SCNT together with EA improves the blastocyst rates and quality (aim 2). For aim 1, cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected from slaughterhouse ovaries, invitro matured (TCM-199), fertilized (16×106 spermatozoa mL−1 for 5h) and cultured (synthetic oviductal fluid media in a humidified gas mixture at 39°C). After IVF, the zona pellucida was enzymatically removed and zona-free (ZF) embryos were cultured individually (1X) or 2 embryos placed together within a microwell (2X) (Day 0, n=70). This procedure was performed at Days 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 (n=76, 78, 94, 96, 90, respectively) and blastocyst rate was assessed at Day 8. Contribution of both embryos to the 2X blastocyst was confirmed by staining Day 0 IVF embryos either with green or red Mitotracker (ThermoFisher Scientific) before EA. For aim 2, fibroblast (FB) and ASC cells were isolated from the skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue of the same adult animal, respectively. Cloned embryos were produced by ZF enucleation, fusion of one ASC or FB cell, and activation with 5μM ionomycin/6-(dimethylamino)purine (6DMAP). After activation, cloned embryos were aggregated (FB2X or ASC2X) or individually cultured (FB1X or ASC1X). Blastocyst rates were recorded at Day 7 of invitro culture. Three biological replicates were evaluated for each aim. Embryo developmental differences were determined using Fisher’s exact test. Relative expression of OCT4, SOX2, and KRT18 was measured by RTqPCR at the blastocyst stage and analysed by Kruskal–Wallis statistical test. Regarding aim 1, no differences for developmental rates were found for Day 0, 3, 4, and 5 groups (57%, 60%, 61.5%, 61%), but the blastocyst rate was only improved in Day 0 and Day 3 relative to their respective 1X controls (Day 0 2X 54.2% vs. Day 0 1X 25.5% and Day 3 2X 52.6% vs. Day 3 1X 25.3%). No aggregation occurred in Day 6 and Day 7 groups. All blastomeres were homogeneously distributed in the 2X blastocyst. Regarding aim 2, no effect of the donor cell was observed on the blastocyst rate (FB1X 26.8%, n=82; ASC1X 21.7%, n=198; FB2X 39.7%, n=126; ASC2X 33%, n=204), whereas EA improved the blastocyst rate of ASC-derived embryos (ASC1X 21.7% vs. ASC2X 33%). Overall, no synergistic effect of the use of both strategies was observed. Relative expression of KRT18 was significantly different between ASC1X and ASC2X embryos. Although OCT4 and SOX2 expression did not differ between groups, EA tended to bring the values closer to that of an IVF embryo. No effect of the donor cell was observed on the embryo relative expression. Our results suggest that EA at Day 0 improves the blastocyst rate in bovine SCNT and IVF embryos. EA of 2 ASC-derived embryos seemed to normalise the embryo quality and may improve post-implantation development.

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Y. Kaedei ◽  
A. Fujiwara ◽  
F. Tanihara ◽  
Z. Namula ◽  
V. L. Vien ◽  
...  

Interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) is an invaluable tool for studying nucleous-cytoplasm interactions, and may provide an alternative for cloning endangered animals, whose oocytes are difficult to obtain. Using readily available oocytes from domestic/farm animals as recipients for iSCNT would greatly benefit ongoing research on somatic cell reprogramming. However, little information is available concerning the development of canine iSCNT embryos reconstructed with bovine oocyte cytoplasm. In the first experiment, we investigated the influence of donor cell type on the development of canine iSCNT embryos reconstructed with enucleated bovine oocytes. Canine mammary gland tumour (MGT) cells and cumulus cells were used as donor cell. The bovine oocytes matured for 22 h were enucleated by the micromanipulator, and the donor cells were transferred into the perivitelline space adjacent to the plasma membrane of the oocyte. The couples were fused and activated simultaneously with a single DC pulse of 2.3 kV cm–1 for 30 μs, using an electro cell fusion generator. The reconstructed embryos were cultured for 72 h in the mSOF medium supplemented with 0.4% BSA. After 72 h of culture, only cleaved embryos were further co-cultured with bovine cumulus cells in mSOF supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for an additional 5 days. In the second experiment, we examined the effects of serum type on the development of canine iSCNT embryos. The embryos reconstructed with canine cumulus cells were co-cultured with canine cumulus cells in mSOF supplemented with 5% FBS, and canine oestrous and diestrous serum for 5 days after 72 h of culture with 0.4% BSA. Data were analysed by chi-square analysis with a Yates’ correction. More than 75% of the canine somatic cells successfully were fused with bovine enucleated oocytes following electrofusion, irrespective of the types of the donor cells. There were no significant differences in the cleavage rates of iSCNT embryos between the cumulus cell and MGT cell (66.2% v. 62.6%). Although none of the embryos reconstructed with MGT cells (n = 123) developed to the 16-cell stage, 6% of embryos with cumulus cells (n = 133) reached at least the 16-cell stage. There were no significant differences in the cleavage rates of iSCNT embryos among the types of serum. The iSCNT embryos could not develop to the blastocyst stage, irrespective of the type of donor cell and serum. In conclusion, our results indicate that the bovine oocytes partly supported the remodelling and reprogramming of the canine somatic cell nuclei, but they were unable to support the development to the blastocyst stage of canine iSCNT embryos. Moreover, the development to the late embryonic stage of iSCNT embryos may be influenced by the type of donor cell but not serum.


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 142 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Iwamoto ◽  
K. Saeki ◽  
S. Kishigami ◽  
A. Kasamatsu ◽  
A. Tatemizo ◽  
...  

Although cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been achieved in various mammalian species, its efficiency has been very low (Han et al. 2003 Theriogenology 59, 33–44). Successful cloning requires conversion from differentiated donor nuclei to embryonic nuclei after transfer of the somatic nuclei into enucleated oocytes. Reprogramming of the transferred somatic nuclei must be completed by the time when normal activation of the embryonic genome occurs (Solter 2000 Nat. Rev. Genet. 1, 199–207). Recently, both full-term development and pre-implantation development of mouse SCNT embryos were significantly enhanced by treatment with trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase (Kishigami et al. 2006 Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 340, 183–189; Rybouchkin et al. 2006 Biol. Reprod. 74, 1083–1089). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of TSA on the development of bovine SCNT embryos. Bovine fibroblasts were cultured under serum starvation (0.4% FCS) for 7 days and then used as donor cells. The cells were electro-fused with bovine enucleated matured oocytes, and activated with a calcium ionophore and cycloheximide. They were subsequently cultured in mSOF medium until 168 h post-activation (hpa). The NT embryos were exposed to 0 (control), 5, 50, and 500 nM TSA from the start of activation to 48 hpa. Experiments were repeated 3 times, and the data were analyzed with Fisher's PLSD test following ANOVA. The cleavage rates were the same among the groups (60 to 80%; P >0.05). However, the blastocyst rate of NT embryos treated with 50 nM TSA was higher than that of control embryos (40% vs. 19%, respectively; P < 0.05). On the other hand, the blastocyst rate was lower with 500 nM TSA than with 5 or 50 nM TSA (7% vs. 33% or 40%; P < 0.05). These data suggest that proper TSA treatment after somatic cloning improves the rate of development of bovine cloned embryos to the blastocyst stage. Further research is needed to examine whether NT embryos derived from different cell lines or types have similar susceptibility to TSA.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Y. Liu ◽  
O. Østrup ◽  
J. Li ◽  
G. Vajta ◽  
L. Lin ◽  
...  

Pretreatment of somatic cells to promote subsequent reprogramming during somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) may significantly improve efficiency of the technique. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Xenopus laevis egg extract pretreatment of porcine fetal fibroblast cells using different permeabilization agents prior to SCNT. Fibroblasts were permeabilized using streptolysin O (SLO; 300 ng mL-1, 30 min, 37°C) or digitonin (7 μg mL-1, 2 min, 4°C), and exposed to egg extract for 1 h or 0.5 h, respectively. Cell membranes were resealed in DMEM supplemented with 2 mM CaCl2 for 2 h. After culture for 1, 3, and 5 days (for SLO) or 3 and 5 days (for digitonin), the SLO extract-treated cells (SETC) and digitonin extract-treated cells (DETC) were used as donor karyoplasts for handmade cloning. Controls were SCNT with nontreated cells. Embryos were evaluated for cleavage rate (Day 2), blastocyst rate (Day 6), and total cell numbers of blastocysts. Statistical differences were analyzed by ANOVA. Results are summarized in Table 1. When SETC were used as donors, blastocyst rates were significantly lower compared with the controls, except when the donor cells were cultured for 3 days after treatment. Blastocysts of the latter group also had higher total cell number. With DETC as donors, blastocyst rates and total cell number of embryos at Day 6 reconstructed with cells cultured for 5 days were higher than those in other groups. Results indicate that extract treatment of the donor cells after SLO-permeabilization can give higher number of cells in cloned blastocysts but not improve overall embryo development. However, digitonin treatment for donor cell permeabilization improved both embryo development and cell number of blastocyst. The latter effect was detected only 5 days after the treatment. In conclusion, qualitative efficiency of porcine SCNT could be improved with a combined donor cell permeabilization and extract treatment. Table 1.Effect of different permeabilization agents prior to SCNT


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
J. Estrada ◽  
E. Lee ◽  
J. Piedrahita

Donor cell quality is one of the most important factors affecting somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in mammals. Many studies have been carried out to improve the donor cell characteristics in nuclear transfer, including studies on cell type, cell cycle stage, cell passage, and handling of donor cells before the SCNT. Even though most SCNT work is done with donor cells that have been previously frozen and thawed, no studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of the cell freezing rate on the SCNT efficiency. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of the cell freezing method on development of pig SCNT embryos in vitro. Fibroblasts were collected from a 29-day-old female fetus, suspended in DMEM-F12 + 40% fetal bovine serum (FBS) + 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and placed in 1.6-mL cryovials for freezing. Vials were randomly assigned to two treatments: In treatment 1, cells were frozen at a controlled rate of 1�C/min in a programmable machine (P) until -40�C, and then plunged into liquid nitrogen (LN2; -196�C). In treatment 2, the traditional system (T), vials were placed in a styrofoam box and left overnight in a freezer at -80�C. The next day samples were plunged into LN2 (196�C). For each treatment, cells were thawed and cultured until confluence before being used for SCNT. Cells were used at passages 2 and 6. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were aspirated from slaughterhouse ovaries and cultured for 39 h in TCM 199 supplemented with 10% porcine follicular fluid (pFF), 5 �g/mL insulin, 10 ng/mL epidermal growth factor (EGF), 0.6 mM cysteine, 0.2 mM pyruvate, 25 �g/mL gentamycin and 5 �g/mL each of equine and human chorionic gonadotropin (eCG and hCG). Oocytes were stained with bisbenzimide and enucleated in manipulation media with 7.5 �g/mL cytochalasin B by removing the first polar body and metaphase plate by means of a 16-�m beveled glass pipette. Cells from each treatment were injected into the perivitelline space of recipient enucleated oocytes and fused by two DC pulses of 140 V for 50 �s in fusion media. The fusion rate was evaluated 1 h later, and reconstructed oocytes were activated by two DC pulses of 120 V for 60 �s. After activation, oocytes were placed in bicarbonate-buffered NCSU-13 with 0.4% BSA and cultured at 38.5�C, 5% CO2 in a humidified atmosphere. Embryos were observed for cell cleavage at Day 2, and blastocyst development rate and cell number counting were done at Day 7 of culture. Every experiment was repeated three times. The temperature descending rate for P was slower and more linear (1�C/min vs. 2�C/min) than for the T method. Fusion rate was not significantly affected (P < 0.05) by the freezing method when they were evaluated either individually at each passage or accumulated regardless the passage (78.9 � 3.6% vs. 79.4 � 6.3%) for P and T, respectively. The same trends were observed for cleavage (61.2 � 5.2% vs. 64.3 � 5.2%), blastocyst development (4.2 � 1.8% vs. 5.0 � 2.8%), and number of cells at the blastocyst stage (19.4 � 3.1 vs. 19.8 � 6.2) for P and T, respectively. The present findings indicate that blastocyst development after SCNT does not differ when fetal fibroblasts donor cells are frozen by the two methods tested.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 132 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Srirattana ◽  
J. C. St. John

Although somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a valuable tool for producing animals for agricultural and research purposes, the resultant mixing of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from the donor cell and recipient oocyte (heteroplasmy) affects embryo development and offspring survival and health. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of depleting donor cells of their mtDNA before SCNT on embryo development. mtDNA was depleted from cattle fibroblasts using 2′,3′-dideoxycytidine. mtDNA copy number in cells depleted for 30 days (0.85 ± 0.05) was significantly decreased when compared with nondepleted cells (150.12 ± 29.90; P < 0.0001, ANOVA). Moreover, mtDNA copy number in depleted cells could not be replenished after depletion for 30 days. Depleted cells and nondepleted cells were used as donor cells for SCNT. Somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos were produced by electrofusion of a single donor cell with an enucleated cow oocyte. Reconstructed oocytes were chemically activated and cultured for 7 days (nontreated embryos). Another cohort of embryos was treated with Trichostatin A (TSA), to enhance reprogramming, by activating reconstructed oocytes and culturing them in the presence of 50 nM TSA for up to 10 h. The embryos were then cultured in the absence of TSA. In nontreated groups, the fusion rates of depleted cells (78.0 ± 0.8%) were significantly lower than those of nondepleted cells (92.1 ± 1.4%; P < 0.05). No positive effect on fusion rates was found after TSA treatment. The blastocyst rate for SCNT embryos derived from depleted cells (18.7 ± 4.9%) was significantly lower than the nondepleted group (32.5 ± 3.1%; P < 0.05). Trichostatin A treatment increased blastocyst rates for SCNT embryos derived from depleted cells (32.5 ± 5.3%) to levels equivalent to those of nondepleted cells but did not have any beneficial effect on SCNT embryos derived from nondepleted cells. We have analysed blastocysts for the presence of donor cell mtDNA by high resolution melting analysis. Four out of 10 SCNT blastocysts derived from nondepleted cells were heteroplasmic, whereas others had no donor cell mtDNA. However, all 10 analysed SCNT blastocysts derived from depleted cells were homoplasmic as they harboured only oocyte mtDNA. From RNA sequencing results, TSA treatment of SCNT blastocysts derived from depleted cells increased the expression of key developmental transcription regulators and decreased expression of the mtDNA-specific replication factors, which is essential for embryo development. In conclusion, homoplasmic SCNT embryos were successfully produced by using mtDNA depleted donor cells. Trichostatin A treatment enhanced nuclear reprogramming efficiency in SCNT embryos derived from depleted cells. This work was supported by MitoStock Pty. Ltd., Australia.


Zygote ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kim ◽  
J.H. Kim ◽  
E. Lee ◽  
Y.W. Jeong ◽  
M.S. Hossein ◽  
...  

SummaryThis study was aimed to establish embryonic stem (ES)-like cells from blastocysts derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in pig. Somatic cells isolated from both day-30 fetus and neonatal cloned piglet were used for donor cells. A total of 60 blastocysts (46 and 14 derived from fetal and neonatal fibroblast donor cells, respectively) were seeded onto a mitotically inactive mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) monolayer and two ES-like cell lines, one from each donor cell type, were established. They remained undifferentiated over more than 52 (fetal fibroblast-derived) and 48 (neonatal fibroblast-derived) passages, while retaining alkaline phosphatase activity and reactivity with ES specific markers Oct-4, stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1), SSEA-4, TRA-1–60 and TRA-1–81. These ES-like cells maintained normal diploid karyotype throughout subculture and successfully differentiated into embryoid bodies that expressed three germ layer-specific genes (ectoderm: β-III tubulin; endoderm: amylase; and mesoderm: enolase) after culture in leukemia inhibitory factor-free medium. Microsatellite analysis confirmed that they were genetically identical to its donor cells. Combined with gene targeting, our results may contribute to developing an efficient method for producing transgenic pigs for various purposes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 198
Author(s):  
T. Xiang ◽  
S. Walker ◽  
K. Gregg ◽  
W. Zhou ◽  
V. Farrar ◽  
...  

Oct-4, a POU domain-containing transcription factor encoded by Pou5f1, is selectively expressed in pre-implantation embryos and pluripotent stem cells, but not in somatic cells. Because of such a unique expression feature, Oct-4 can serve as a useful reprogramming indicator in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Compared with data of Oct-4 expression in mouse and bovine cloned embryos, little is known about this gene in equine nuclear transfer. In the present study, we investigated Oct-4 expression in donor cells, oocytes, and SCNT embryos to evaluate reprogramming of equine somatic cells following nuclear transfer. Horse ovaries were obtained from a local slaughterhouse and the oocytes collected from the ovaries were matured in vitro in an M199-based medium (Galli et al. 2003 Nature 424, 635) for 24 h. Donor cells were derived from biopsy tissue samples of adult horses and cultured for 1 to 5 passages. Standard nuclear transfer procedures (Zhou et al. 2008 Mol. Reprod. Dev. 75, 744–758) were performed to produce cloned embryos derived from equine adult somatic cells. Cloned blastocysts were obtained after 7 days of in vitro culture of reconstructed embryos. Total RNA were extracted using Absolutely RNA Miniprep/Nanoprep kits (Stratagen, La Jolla, CA) from oocytes (n = 200), donor cells, and embryos (n = 5). DNase I treatment was included in the procedure to prevent DNA contamination. Semiquantitative RT-PCR was performed with optimized cycling parameters to analyze Oct-4, GDF9, and β-actin in equine donor cells, oocytes, and cloned blastocysts. The RT-PCR products were sequenced to verify identity of the genes tested. The relative expression abundance was calculated by normalizing the band intensity of Oct-4 to that of β-actin in each analysis. No transcript of Oct-4 was detected in equine somatic cells used as donor nuclei, consistent with its expression patterns in other animal species, whereas Oct-4 was abundantly expressed in equine SCNT blastocysts derived from the same donor cell line. Oct-4 transcripts were also detected in equine oocytes and whether any maternally inherited Oct-4 mRNA persisted up to the blastocyst stage was unclear in this study. We selected GDF9 to address this question; GDF9 was abundantly detected in equine oocytes, consistent with its expression pattern in mouse and bovine, but not detected in donor cells and cloned blastocysts, suggesting that the GDF9 mRNA from the oocyte was degraded at least by the blastocyst stage. The results from this study imply occurrence of Oct-4 reprogramming in equine SCNT blastocysts, and future analysis for more developmentally important genes is needed to better understand reprogramming at molecular levels in this species.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
J.-G. Yoo ◽  
M.-R. Park ◽  
H.-N. Kim ◽  
Y.-G. Ko ◽  
J.-Y. Lee ◽  
...  

Instead of surgical embryo transfer (ET) in the pig, nonsurgical ET is a hopeful method to increase the efficiency of biotechnology applications such as cloning and transgenesis. In this study, we conducted surgical and nonsurgical ET methods after somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) with MHC miniature pig cells to find out the best condition for production of cloned miniature pigs. Ovaries were obtained from prepubertal crossbred gilts at a local slaughterhouse. Oocytes were matured for 40 to 44 h at 38.5°C under 5% CO2 in air. As donor cells, fibroblast cells were cultured from ear skin tissue of 8-month-old MHC inbred miniature pigs. Fibroblast cells were cultured, passaged (3 to 8 passages), and used as donor cells for NT. After the enucleation and injection process, eggs were held in TCM-199. For fusion, 2 DC pulses of 1.2 kV cm-1 were applied for 30 μs. Both IVF and SCNT embryos were cultured in PZM-3 medium. After IVF, 84.9% (411/484) of embryos cleaved and 27.3% (132/484) of embryos reached the blastocyst stage. In the SCNT group, 80.8% (231/286) of eggs fused and 25.9% (60/286) of embryos developed to blastocysts. For surgical ET, approximately 200 SCNT embryos were transferred into oviducts of each synchronized recipient. For nonsurgical ET, embryos were cultured in PZM-3 for 6 days after SCNT and IVF, and then good quality blastocyst stage embryos were selected for ET. The pregnancy status of recipients at Day 30 was determined by ultrasound scanning. Using Day 30 of gestation as an endpoint, the nonsurgical ET method (47.3%, 9/19) had a similar pregnancy rate as the surgical ET method (56.5%, 13/23). Further study is needed to optimize the nonsurgical ET method especially for SCNT eggs. This work received grant support from the Agenda Program (no. 200901FHT010305535), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Y. H. Choi ◽  
Y. G. Chung ◽  
D. D. Varner ◽  
K. Hinrichs

Only one horse foal produced from adult somatic cell nuclear transfer has been reported in the scientific literature (Galli et al. 2003 Nature 425, 680); a second foal from the same laboratory was reported in the popular press in 2005. In these reports, the blastocyst rates were 3 and 17%, and efficiency to birth of a live foal from total reconstructed oocytes was 0.1 and 0.5%, respectively. In cattle, roscovitine treatment of donor cells has been associated with a decrease in blastocyst development, but an increase in live births (Gibbons et al. 2002 Biol. Reprod. 66, 895-900). The present study was performed to determine the effect of roscovitine treatment of donor cells on blastocyst production after equine nuclear transfer and to evaluate the viability of pregnancies established via this treatment. In Experiment 1, fibroblasts were either grown to confluence or treated with 15 �g/mL roscovitine, for 24 h. Enucleated in vitro-matured oocytes were reconstructed by direct injection of fibroblasts using a piezo drill. Recombined oocytes were activated by injection of stallion sperm extract, followed by culture in the presence of 2 mM 6-DMAP for 4 h. They were then placed in culture in DMEM/F-12 with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) under mixed gas for 8 days and evaluated for blastocyst development. In Experiment 2, oocytes recombined with either confluent or roscovitine-treated donor cells were activated as above either alone or with the addition of 10 �g/mL cycloheximide at the time of 6-DMAP treatment. Resulting blastocysts from Experiment 2 were transferred transcervically to the uteri of recipient mares. One embryo was transferred per mare. In Experiment 1, there was no difference in rates of cleavage (73-19%) or blastocyst development between confluence and roscovitine treatments (2/55, 3.6% vs. 2/56, 3.6%, respectively). In Experiment 2, there was no significant difference in rates of cleavage (78-18%) or blastocyst development (0-1%; 4/105, 0/104, 0/106, 2/108) among donor cell or activation treatments. Six blastocysts were transferred to mares: two from confluent donor cells and four from roscovitine-treated donor cells. One mare, which received an embryo from the roscovitine donor/6-DMAP treatment, established pregnancy after transfer. The pregnancy continued normally and the mare delivered a colt with minimal assistance on Day 389. Typing for 13 equine microsatellites confirmed that the colt was of the same DNA type as the donor fibroblasts. The colt has grown and developed normally. Results of these studies show that roscovitine treatment of equine donor cells does not negatively affect the proportion of recombined oocytes that progress to the blastocyst stage. A viable colt resulted from an embryo produced with roscovitine-treated donor cells. More work is needed on methods to increase blastocyst rates after nuclear transfer in this species. This work was supported by the Link Equine Research Endowment Fund, Texas A&M University.


2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 418-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhisheng Zhong ◽  
Yanhong Hao ◽  
Rongfeng Li ◽  
Lee Spate ◽  
David Wax ◽  
...  

AbstractWe previously reported that translocation of mitochondria from the oocyte cortex to the perinuclear area indicates positive developmental potential that was reduced in porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos compared to in vitro–fertilized (IVF) embryos (Katayama, M., Zhong, Z.-S., Lai, L., Sutovsky, P., Prather, R.S. & Schatten, H. (2006). Dev Biol299, 206–220.). The present study is focused on distribution of donor cell mitochondria in intraspecies (pig oocytes; pig fetal fibroblast cells) and interspecies (pig oocytes; mouse fibroblast cells) reconstructed embryos by using either pig fibroblasts with mitochondria-stained MitoTracker CMXRos or YFP-mitochondria 3T3 cells (pPhi-Yellow-mito) as donor cells. Transmission electron microscopy was employed for ultrastructural analysis of pig oocyte and donor cell mitochondria. Our results revealed donor cell mitochondrial clusters around the donor nucleus that gradually dispersed into the ooplasm at 3 h after SCNT. Donor-derived mitochondria distributed into daughter blastomeres equally (82.8%) or unequally (17.2%) at first cleavage. Mitochondrial morphology was clearly different between donor cells and oocytes in which various complex shapes and configurations were seen. These data indicate that (1) unequal donor cell mitochondria distribution is observed in 17.2% of embryos, which may negatively influence development; and (2) complex mitochondrial morphologies are observed in IVF and SCNT embryos, which may influence mitochondrial translocation and affect development.


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