Epigenetic regulation of reprogramming factors towards pluripotency in mouse preimplantation development

Sperm-borne microRNA-34c regulates maternal mRNA degradation and preimplantation embryonic development in mice

BACKGROUND

Studies have shown that sperm-borne microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in mammalian preimplantation embryonic development. In humans, spermatozoan miR-34c levels are correlated with in vitro fertilization outcomes, such as embryo quality and the clinical pregnancy and live birth rates. In rabbits and cows, miR-34c improves the developmental competence of embryos generated by somatic cell nuclear transfer. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of embryonic development by miR-34c remain unknown.

METHODS

Female C57BL/6 mice (6-8 weeks old) were superovulated, and pronucleated zygotes were collected and microinjected with an miR-34c inhibitor or a negative-control RNA. The embryonic development of the microinjected zygotes was evaluated, and the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profiles of the embryos at the two-cell, four-cell and blastocyst stages (five embryos per group) were determined by RNA sequencing analysis. Gene expression levels were verified by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Cluster analysis and heat map visualization were performed to detect differentially expressed mRNAs. Pathway and process enrichment analyses were performed using ontology resources. Differentially expressed mRNAs were systematically analyzed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins database to determine their biological functions.

RESULTS

Embryonic developmental potential was significantly reduced in zygotes microinjected with the miR-34c inhibitor compared with those microinjected with a negative-control RNA. Two-cell stage embryos microinjected with an miR-34c inhibitor presented altered transcriptomic profiles, with upregulated expression of maternal miR-34c target mRNAs and classical maternal mRNAs. Differentially expressed transcripts were mainly of genes associated with lipid metabolism and cellular membrane function at the two-cell stage, with cell-cycle phase transition and energy metabolism at the four-cell stage; and with vesicle organization, lipid biosynthetic process and endomembrane system organization at the blastocyst stage. We also showed that genes related to preimplantation embryonic development, including Alkbh4, Sp1, Mapk14, Sin3a, Sdc1 and Laptm4b, were significantly downregulated after microinjection of an miR-34c inhibitor.

CONCLUSIONS

Sperm-borne miR-34c may regulate preimplantation embryonic development by affecting multiple biological processes, such as maternal mRNA degradation, cellular metabolism, cell proliferation and blastocyst implantation. Our data demonstrate the importance of sperm-derived miRNAs in the development of preimplantation embryos.

Overexpression of MBD3 Improves Reprogramming of Cloned Pig Embryos

Methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 3 (MBD3) is a core component of the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex, which is crucial for pluripotent stem cell differentiation and embryonic development. MBD3 was shown to play important roles in transcription factor-induced somatic cell reprogramming. Expression level of MBD3 was demonstrated to be higher in somatic cell nuclear transfer-generated cloned pig embryos than in fertilization-derived porcine embryos. However, the functions of MBD3 in nuclear transfer-mediated somatic cell reprogramming are unknown. In this study, MBD3 was overexpressed in cloned pig embryos, and the effects of MBD3 overexpression on gene transcription, DNA methylation, and in vitro developmental competence of cloned pig embryos were analyzed. Results indicated that overexpression of MBD3 in cloned pig embryos not only increased blastocyst rate and number of cells per blastocyst but also upregulated mRNA expression levels and decreased the DNA methylation of NANOG, OCT4, and LINE1 genes to the levels close to those in in vivo fertilization-produced pig embryos. These findings suggest that overexpression of MBD3 improves reprogramming of cloned pig embryos.

Cell signalling during blastocyst morphogenesis

Blastocyst morphogenesis is prepared for even before fertilisation. Information stored within parental gametes can influence both maternal and embryonic gene expression programmes after egg activation at fertilisation. A complex network of intrinsic, cell-cell mediated and extrinsic, embryo-environment signalling mechanisms operates throughout cleavage, compaction and cavitation. These signalling events not only ensure developmental progression, cell differentiation and lineage allocation to inner cell mass (embryo proper) and trophectoderm (future extraembryonic lineages) but also provide a degree of developmental plasticity ensuring survival in prevailing conditions by adaptive responses. Indeed, many cellular functions including differentiation, metabolism, gene expression and gene expression regulation are subject to plasticity with short- or long-term consequences even into adult life. The interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic signals impacting on blastocyst morphogenesis is becoming clearer. This has been best studied in the mouse which will be the focus of this chapter but translational significance to human and domestic animal embryology will be a focus in future years.

Reprogramming of two somatic nuclei in the same ooplasm leads to pluripotent embryonic stem cells

The conversion of the nuclear program of a somatic cell from a differentiated to an undifferentiated state can be accomplished by transplanting its nucleus to an enucleated oocyte (somatic cell nuclear transfer [SCNT]) in a process termed "reprogramming." This process achieves pluripotency and occasionally also totipotency. Exploiting the obstacle of tetraploidy to full development in mammals, we show that mouse ooplasts transplanted with two somatic nuclei simultaneously (double SCNT) support preimplantation development and derivation of novel tetraploid SCNT embryonic stem cells (tNT-ESCs). Although the double SCNT embryos do not recapitulate the expression pattern of the pluripotency-associated gene Oct4 in fertilized embryos, derivative tNT-ESCs have characteristics of genuine pluripotency: in vitro they differentiate into neurons, cardiomyocytes, and endodermal cells; in vivo, tNT-ESCs form teratomas, albeit at reduced rates compared to diploid counterparts. Global transcriptome analysis revealed only few specific alterations, for example, in the quantitative expression of gastrulation-associated genes. In conclusion, we have shown that the oocyte's reprogramming capacity is in excess of a single nucleus and that double nucleus-transplanted embryos and derivative ESCs are very similar to their diploid counterparts. These results have key implications for reprogramming studies based on pluripotency: while reprogramming in the tetraploid state was known from fusion-mediated reprogramming and from fetal and adult hepatocyte-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, we have now accomplished it with enucleated oocytes.

Analysis of transcription factor Stk40 expression and function during mouse pre-implantation embryonic development

Determining the molecular mechanisms in the regulation of early embryonic development is crucial for assisted reproductive technology clinical applications. Serine/threonine protein kinase 40 (Stk40) is a member of the serine/threonine kinase family. It is essential in diverse signaling pathways associated with a wide range of cellular activities, including proliferation, differentiation, survival and apoptosis. However, its involvement and molecular mechanisms in pre‑implantation embryonic development have not been well‑defined. In the present study, it was demonstrated that Stk40 was involved in the development of mouse pre‑implantation embryos. Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy analyses showed that Stk40 was equally expressed in the nuclei and cytoplasm during all stages of pre‑implantation mouse embryos of imprinting control region mice. Reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction showed a significantly higher transcription rate of Stk40 mRNA in the two‑cell stage. The results demonstrated that Stk40 downregulation by microinjection of small interfering RNA into the mouse zygote markedly decreased the blastulation compared with that in the control (Stk40i‑1 vs. control: 65.2% and 77.0%, P<0.05 and Stk40i‑2 vs. control: 49.8% and 70.1%, respectively, P<0.05). In addition, silencing of Stk40 significantly increased the transcription rate of reticulocalbin‑2, whereas that of the homeobox protein, Cdx2, was decreased. In conclusion, the results suggested that Stk40 may be critical in the development of pre‑implantation embryos.