MC1568 Enhances Histone Acetylation During Oocyte Meiosis and Improves Development of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Embryos in Pig

An increasing number of studies have revealed that histone deacetylase (HDAC) mediated histone deacetylation is important for mammalian oocyte development. However, nonselective HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) were applied in most studies; the precise functions of specific HDAC classes during meiosis are poorly defined. In this study, the class IIa-specific HDACi MC1568 was used to reveal a crucial role of class IIa HDACs in the regulation of histone deacetylation during porcine oocyte meiosis. Besides, the functions of HDACs and histone acetyltransferases in regulating the balance of histone acetylation/deacetylation were also confirmed during oocyte maturation. After the validation of nontoxicity of MC1568 in maturation rate, spindle morphology, and chromosome alignment, effects of MC1568 on developmental competence of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos were evaluated, and data indicated that treatment with 10 μM MC1568 for 12 hours following electrical activation significantly enhanced the blastocyst rate and cell numbers. Moreover, results showed that optimal MC1568 treatment increased the H4K12 acetylation level in SCNT one cells and two cells. In addition, MC1568 treatment stimulated expression of the development-related genes OCT4, CDX2, SOX2, and NANOG in SCNT blastocysts. Collectively, our investigation uncovered a critical role of class IIa HDACs in the regulation of histone deacetylation during oocyte meiosis. Furthermore, for the first time, we showed that MC1568 can improve the in vitro development of porcine SCNT embryos. These findings provide an alternative HDACi for improving animal cloning efficiency and may shed more light on nuclear reprogramming.

Transformation by different oncogenes relies on specific metabolic adaptations

Metabolic adaptations are emerging as common traits of cancer cells and tumor progression. In vitro transformation of NIH 3T3 cells allows the analysis of the metabolic changes triggered by a single oncogene. In this work, we have compared the metabolic changes induced by H-RAS and by the nuclear resident mutant of histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4). RAS-transformed cells exhibit a dominant aerobic glycolytic phenotype characterized by up-regulation of glycolytic enzymes, reduced oxygen consumption and a defect in complex I activity. In this model of transformation, glycolysis is strictly required for sustaining the ATP levels and the robust cellular proliferation. By contrast, in HDAC4/TM transformed cells, glycolysis is only modestly up-regulated, lactate secretion is not augmented and, instead, mitochondrial oxygen consumption is increased. Our results demonstrate that cellular transformation can be accomplished through different metabolic adaptations and HDAC4/TM cells can represent a useful model to investigate oncogene-driven metabolic changes besides the Warburg effect.