Dissecting the role of the germinal vesicle nuclear envelope and soluble content in the process of somatic cell remodelling and reprogramming

J. Nucleus reprogramming/remodeling through selective enucleation (SE) of immature oocytes and zygotes: a nucleolus point of view

It is now approximately 25 years since the sheep Dolly, the first cloned mammal where the somatic cell nucleus from an adult donor was used for transfer, was born. So far, somatic cell nucleus transfer, where G1-phase nuclei are transferred into cytoplasts obtained by enucleation of mature metaphase II (MII) oocytes followed by the activation of the reconstructed cells, is the most efficient approach to reprogram/remodel the differentiated nucleus. In general, in an enucleated oocyte (cytoplast), the nuclear envelope (NE, membrane) of an injected somatic cell nucleus breaks down and chromosomes condense. This condensation phase is followed, after subsequent activation, by chromatin decondensation and formation of a pseudo-pronucleus (i) whose morphology should resemble the natural postfertilization pronuclei (PNs). Thus, the volume of the transferred nuclei increases considerably by incorporating the content released from the germinal vesicles (GVs). In parallel, the transferred nucleus genes must be reset and function similarly as the relevant genes in normal embryo reprogramming. This, among others, covers the relevant epigenetic modifications and the appropriate organization of chromatin in pseudo-pronuclei. While reprogramming in SCNT is often discussed, the remodeling of transferred nuclei is much less studied, particularly in the context of the developmental potential of SCNT embryos. It is now evident that correct reprogramming mirrors appropriate remodeling. At the same time, it is widely accepted that the process of rebuilding the nucleus following SCNT is instrumental to the overall success of this procedure. Thus, in our contribution, we will mostly focus on the remodeling of transferred nuclei. In particular, we discuss the oocyte organelles that are essential for the development of SCNT embryos.

Reprogramming of the histone H3.3 landscape in the early mouse embryo

Epigenetic reprogramming of the zygote involves dynamic incorporation of histone variant H3.3. However, the genome-wide distribution and dynamics of H3.3 during early development remain unknown. Here, we delineate the H3.3 landscapes in mouse oocytes and early embryos. We unexpectedly identify a non-canonical H3.3 pattern in mature oocytes and zygotes, in which local enrichment of H3.3 at active chromatin is suppressed and H3.3 is relatively evenly distributed across the genome. Interestingly, although the non-canonical H3.3 pattern forms gradually during oogenesis, it quickly switches to a canonical pattern at the two-cell stage in a transcription-independent and replication-dependent manner. We find that incorporation of H3.1/H3.2 mediated by chromatin assembly factor CAF-1 is a key process for the de novo establishment of the canonical pattern. Our data suggest that the presence of the non-canonical pattern and its timely transition toward a canonical pattern support the developmental program of early embryos.