Effects of different nuclear recipients on developmental potential of mouse somatic nuclear transfer embryos

Somatic cell nuclear transfer has been succeeded in procedures of nuclear transfer. One is single nucleartransfer, the other is serial nuclear transfer. Viable animals have been cloned in different species using both me-thods[1—6]. Different nuclear recipients and donors wereused in serial nuclear transfer, namely, transferring thenuclear of reconstructed embryo into enucleated MⅡoocytes[7], transferring the nuclear of reconstructed em-bryos at one cell stage into enucleated zygote[4] and t…     

广西红树林区有孔团水虱的卵子发生

摸清有孔团水虱的繁殖特性,对团水虱的防控和消杀,以及保护红树林生态系统具有重要意义。本研究采用组织切片技术,研究广西红树林区有孔团水虱的卵子发生过程,探讨其繁殖期时间。结果表明,有孔团水虱的卵子发生过程可分为4个时期,分别是卵原细胞、无卵黄卵母细胞、卵黄发生卵母细胞和成熟期卵母细胞。其中：无卵黄卵母细胞又可分为前期、中期和后期3个亚期;卵黄发生卵母细胞可分为卵黄开始沉积时相和卵黄充满时相2个亚期。受精后发育的胚胎存在于母体内。周年调查表明：有孔团水虱雌性体内全年存在着各时期的卵母细胞或胚胎;2-3月无成熟期卵母细胞或胚胎出现。结合全年各期卵母细胞分布以及胚胎和幼体情况判断,广西红树林区有孔团水虱的繁殖期为每年的4月至次年的1月。     

Embryonic stem cell as nuclear donor could promote in vitro development of the heterogeneous reconstructed embryo

The nucleus of a somatic cell could be dedifferentiated and reprogrammed in an enucleated heterogeneous oocyte. Some reconstructed oocytes could develop into blastocysts in vitro, and a few could develop into term normally after transferred into foster mothers, but most of cloning embryos fail to develop to term. In order to evaluate the efficacy of embryonic stem cell as nucleus donor in interspecific animal cloning, we reconstructed enucleated rabbit oocytes with nuclei from mouse ES cells, and analyzed the developmental ability of reconstructed embryos in vitro. Two kinds of fibroblast cells were used as donor control, one derived from ear skin of an adult Kunming albino mouse, and the other derived from a mouse fetus. Three types of cells were transferred into perivitelline space under zona pellucida of rabbit oocytes respectively. The reconstructed oocytes were fused and activated by electric pulses, and cultured in vitro. The developmental rate of reconstructed oocytes derived from embryonic stem cells was 16.1%, which was significantly higher than that of both the adult mouse fibroblast cells (0%-3.1%, P < 0.05) and fetus mouse fibroblast cells (2.1%-3.7%, P < 0.05). Chromosome analysis confirmed that blastocyst cells were derived from ES donor cell. These observations show that reprogramming is easier in interspecific embryos reconstructed with ES cells than that reconstructed with somatic cells, and that ES cells have the higher ability to direct the reconstructed embryos development normally than fibroblast cells.     

Function of c-mos proto-oncogene product in meiotic maturation in Xenopus oocytes

The c-mos proto-oncogene is expressed as a maternal mRNA in oocytes and early embryos of Xenopus laevis, but its translation product pp39mos is detectable only during progesterone-induced oocyte maturation. Microinjection of mos-specific antisense oligonucleotides into oocytes not only prevents expression of pp39mos, but also blocks germinal vesicle breakdown, indicating that it functions during reinitiation of meiotic division.     

Cloned pigs produced by nuclear transfer from adult somatic cells

Since the first report of live mammals produced by nuclear transfer from a cultured differentiated cell population in 1995 (ref. 1), successful development has been obtained in sheep, cattle, mice and goats using a variety of somatic cell types as nuclear donors. The methodology used for embryo reconstruction in each of these species is essentially similar: diploid donor nuclei have been transplanted into enucleated MII oocytes that are activated on, or after transfer. In sheep and goat pre-activated oocytes have also proved successful as cytoplast recipients. The reconstructed embryos are then cultured and selected embryos transferred to surrogate recipients for development to term. In pigs, nuclear transfer has been significantly less successful; a single piglet was reported after transfer of a blastomere nucleus from a four-cell embryo to an enucleated oocyte; however, no live offspring were obtained in studies using somatic cells such as diploid or mitotic fetal fibroblasts as nuclear donors. The development of embryos reconstructed by nuclear transfer is dependent upon a range of factors. Here we investigate some of these factors and report the successful production of cloned piglets from a cultured adult somatic cell population using a new nuclear transfer procedure.     

Meiotic initiation by the mos protein in Xenopus.

When fully grown Xenopus oocytes are stimulated by progesterone, a period of protein synthesis is necessary for maturation. Synthesis of the mos proto-oncogene product, pp39mos, is necessary for the activation of M-phase promoting factor (MPF) in meiosis I. On the basis that mos is translated de novo on hormonal stimulation of Xenopus oocytes and that injecting mos RNA into oocytes induces their maturation, we have proposed that the mos protein is a candidate initiator of oocyte maturation, needed to trigger the conversion of precursor MPF into its active form. To determine whether mos is the only protein required for initiating maturation, we have produced a soluble, active recombinant mos protein and injected it into Xenopus oocytes. We report here that in the absence of protein synthesis that mos protein efficiently induces germinal vesicle breakdown and the activation of MPF. The oocytes, however, do not proceed into meiosis II. Thus, the mos protein fulfills the requirements of an initiator protein, but the synthesis of one or more additional proteins may be necessary to complete oocyte maturation.     

Mitochondrial functions on oocytes and preimplantation embryos

Oocyte quality has long been considered as a main limiting factor for in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the past decade, extensive observations demonstrated that the mitochondrion plays a vital role in the oocyte cytoplasm, for it can provide adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for fertilization and preimplantation embryo development and also act as stores of intracellular calcium and proapoptotic factors. During the oocyte maturation, mitochondria are characterized by distinct changes of their distribution pattern from being homogeneous to heterogeneous, which is correlated with the cumulus apoptosis. Oocyte quality decreases with the increasing maternal age. Recent studies have shown that low quality oocytes have some age-related dysfunctions, which include the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, increase of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damages, chromosomal aneuploidies, the incidence of apoptosis, and changes in mitochondrial gene expression. All these dysfunctions may cause a high level of developmental retardation and arrest of preimplantation embryos. It has been suggested that these mitochondrial changes may arise from excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) that is closely associated with the oxidative energy production or calcium overload, which may trigger permeability transition pore opening and subsequent apoptosis. Therefore, mitochondria can be seen as signs for oocyte quality evaluation, and it is possible that the oocyte quality can be improved by enhancing the physical function of mitochondria. Here we reviewed recent advances in mitochondrial functions on oocytes.     

Nuclear transfer using nonquiescent adult fibroblasts from a bovine ear

The natural reproduction of mammal is sexual reproduction, which needs fertilization involving sperm and oocyte. Nuclear transfer provided an asexual reproduction method for mammal. Donor cells used in previous experiments of nuclear transfer were mostly from undifferentiated or non-terminally differentiated cells, such as embryonic or fetal cells. However, since Wilmutet al. obtained a viable lamb by transfer of an adult sheep somatic cell into an enucleated oocyte, nuclear transfer using adult somatic cell has been successful in several species. Wilmutet al. suggested that it was a key factor for the success of somatic nuclear transfer to induce the donor cells into GO phase (“GO-phase hypothesis”). In order to verify the Gophase hypothesis, nonquiescent adult fibroblasts from a bovine ear were transferred into enucleated bovine oocytes. The experiments showed that the rate of electrofusion after micromanipulation was above 50%, the cleaving rate was 54.5% and 9.1% of those reconstructed embryos developed to 32-cell stage. These results indicate that for cattle, nuclei from nonquiescent adult somatic cells introduced into enucleated oocytes are at least capable of supporting early development.     

精子和酒精对小鼠卵母细胞激活的比较

对不同卵龄的小鼠卵母细胞被精子和酒精激活后的激活率进行了比较。结果显示,卵母细胞对常规的体外受精和酒精的人工激活的激活率存在卵龄的差异。注射hCG后15～24h的卵母细胞容易被酒精的人工刺激所激活,20h卵龄的卵母细胞激活率最高,平均为81．6％,且速即卵裂率也最高,平均为48％,卵龄更大的卵母细胞激活率降低,而13h的卵母细胞难以被酒精激活。另一方面,13～15h的卵母细胞容易被精子激活而受精,卵龄较大的卵母细胞在体外难以被精子激活受精。这表明,精子和酒精对卵母细胞的激活机制有所不同。     

Release of mature starfish oocytes from interphase arrest by microinjection of human centrosomes

Mature oocytes (unfertilized eggs) are arrested at definite cell-cycle stages which vary from species to species. In frogs and mammals, the oocytes are arrested at the second metaphase of meiosis whereas in echinoderms they are blocked later, at the pronucleus stage. What causes the maturing oocytes to stop at some point in the cell cycle is not entirely clear. In frogs, the metaphase arrest seems to be maintained by a cytostatic factor. In echinoderms, which stop at interphase, no such a factor has so far been found. The fertilization process, beyond the introduction of paternal chromosomes, releases the oocyte from cell-cycle arrest and provides a functional centrosome to replace the endogenous centrosome which is apparently lost during oogenesis in most species. Several lines of evidence suggest that release from cell-cycle arrest is mediated by a Ca2+ burst which is associated with fertilization, and it is known that the functional centrosome provided by the sperm is necessary for mitotic spindle formation and cleavages. We report here that microinjection of purified human centrosomes into mature starfish oocytes is sufficient to release them from arrest at interphase and to support many cleavages leading to the occasional formation of normal embryos. In this species centrosome induced re-entry into the cell cycle does not require a transient calcium burst nor does it require intact microtubules.     

鳜鱼卵母细胞发育的组织学和超微结构观察

对鳜鱼(Siniperca chuatsi)卵巢中的卵母细胞发育的组织学和超微结构进行观察.按照其生理结构特征将其发育过程分为6个阶段.卵膜在卵母细胞发育Ш时相形成,包括鞘膜、放射膜和卵黄膜.结果还讨论了鳜鱼卵黄颗粒的发生以及与卵膜形成的关系.     

Serial nuclear transfer improves the development of interspecies reconstructed giant panda (Aluropoda melanoleuca) embryos

Interspecies somatic nuclear transfer (NT) may provide a new approach for preservation of the endangered rare species. Previous interspecies cloning studies have shown that a nucleus from a quiescent somatic cell supports early development of reconstructed embryos in the ooplasm from another species. In this study, we transferred nonquiescent somatic cells from a giant panda into the perivitelline space of the enucleated rabbit oocytes. After electrofusion (at the rate of 71.6%) and electrical activation, 4.2% of the panda-rabbit reconstructed embryos developed to blastocyst in vitro. For improving the development rate of reconstructed embryos, we used serial NT in this study, i.e. blastomeres from reconstructed morulae were transferred into the perivitelline space of the enucleated rabbit oocytes. The fusion rates in the groups of serial I, serial II and serial III were 79.5%, 84.1% and 78.0%, respectively, having no difference with that of somatic group. And the blastocyst rates in serial NT groups were 19.4%, 13.5% and 10.3%, respectively, which are significantly higher than that in somatic NT group. These results indicate that the nuclei from nonquiescent somatic cells can support early development of reconstructed embryos and serial NT can improve the development rate of interspecies reconstructed embryos. These authors contributed equally to this work.     

锯缘青蟹卵子发生的超微结构研究

锯缘青蟹的卵子发生可划分为卵原细胞，卵黄发生前期和卵黄发生期卵母细胞三个时期，卵原细胞核大而圆，卵质稀少，胞器以滑面内质网为主。卵黄发生前的卵母细胞核显著膨大，部分核内可见到同源染色体的联会现象：卵质细密，出现核仁外排物和大量的核糖体，粗面内质网，线粒体和自噬泡，卵黄发生的卵母细胞核膜上核孔密集；卵质中各种胞器高度发达，参与形成卵黄粒和脂滴；细胞出现微吞饮活动并形成卵黄膜，细胞外围单层滤泡细胞，本     

牛体外受精胚胎成份明确培养系统的建立

以 SOF为基本培养液 ,分别添加血清、PVA以及同时添加 PVA、肌醇和柠檬酸钠 ,进行牛体外受精卵的发育培养 ,三个处理组的囊胚发育率分别为 :3 2 .6%、1 1 .9%和 1 5 .9% ,血清处理组极显著高于两个 PVA处理组 (p<0 .0 1 ) .在此基础上 ,将受精处理后的卵子去掉卵丘细胞后 ,培养于 SOF PVA 肌醇 柠檬酸钠培养液内 ,以未去掉卵丘细胞的卵子为对照 ,两个处理组的囊胚发育率分别为 1 0 .8%和 2 1 .1 % .二者间没有显著差异 .结果表明没有血清和卵丘细胞的成份明确的培养系统能够支持牛体外受精卵发育至囊胚阶段 .     

小鼠附睾精子的显微受精

目的：建立显微受精的方法,并探讨小鼠附睾精子在显微注射进入卵母细胞后的受精能力。方法：用显微注射法把小鼠附睾头和附睾尾精子注入卵母细胞的胞质内或卵周隙进行显微受精。结果：把单个附睾尾精子注入卵细胞质中,培养后１４个存活的卵细胞中,有５个卵裂为２－细胞期胚胎;将单个附睾头精子注入卵母细胞中,有２５个存活,其中９个受精发育为２－细胞期胚胎;将附睾尾精子注入卵周隙进行带下受精,３０个存活的卵细胞中有４个     

Birth of parthenogenetic mice that can develop to adulthood

Only mammals have relinquished parthenogenesis, a means of producing descendants solely from maternal germ cells. Mouse parthenogenetic embryos die by day 10 of gestation. Bi-parental reproduction is necessary because of parent-specific epigenetic modification of the genome during gametogenesis. This leads to unequal expression of imprinted genes from the maternal and paternal alleles. However, there is no direct evidence that genomic imprinting is the only barrier to parthenogenetic development. Here we show the development of a viable parthenogenetic mouse individual from a reconstructed oocyte containing two haploid sets of maternal genome, derived from non-growing and fully grown oocytes. This development was made possible by the appropriate expression of the Igf2 and H19 genes with other imprinted genes, using mutant mice with a 13-kilobase deletion in the H19 gene as non-growing oocytes donors. This full-term development is associated with a marked reduction in aberrantly expressed genes. The parthenote developed to adulthood with the ability to reproduce offspring. These results suggest that paternal imprinting prevents parthenogenesis, ensuring that the paternal contribution is obligatory for the descendant.     

Go protein as signal transducer in the pertussis toxin-sensitive phosphatidylinositol pathway

Receptors stimulating phospholipase C do so through heterotrimeric GTP-binding proteins to produce two second messengers, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) and diacylglycerol. In spite of the detailed understanding of phospholipase C structure and phosphatidyl inositol signalling, the identity of the GTP-binding protein involved is so far unknown. To address this issue, we have used the Xenopus oocyte in which muscarinic receptors couple to phospholipase C through a pertussis toxin-sensitive GTP-binding protein. In this cell, InsP3 mobilizes intracellular Ca2+ to evoke a Cl- current. The magnitude of this Cl- current is proportional to the amount of InsP3 in the cell, and therefore can be used as an assay for InsP3 production. We report here that the activated alpha-subunit of the GTP-binding protein GO, when directly injected into oocytes, evokes a Cl- current by mobilizing Ca2+ from intracellular InsP3-sensitive stores. We also show that holo-GO, when injected into oocytes, can specifically enhance the muscarinic receptor-stimulated Cl- current. These data indicate that GO can serve as the signal transducer of the receptor-regulated phospholipase C in Xenopus oocytes.     

水牛卵母细胞孤雌激活及孤雌胚与体外受精胚发育的比较

目的对MII期水牛卵母细胞进行人工诱导激活,可以间接判断体外成熟卵母细胞质量的优劣,并且,卵母细胞的充分激活也是提高核移植效率的关键因素之一。比较了水牛卵母细胞体外成熟时间对孤雌激活胚发育能力的影响以及不同化学激活方法对水牛卵母细胞孤雌激活效果的影响,并在相同条件下,对孤雌激活胚与体外受精胚的发育能力进行了比较。结果表明,水牛卵母细胞体外成熟27 h或30 h的囊胚发育率(19.0%,17.7%)明显高于体外成熟21 h或24 h的囊胚发育率(12.3%,13.8%);Ion联合6_DMAP激活水牛卵母细胞的效果优于其他几组激活方法;在相同培养条件下,孤雌激活胚与体外受精胚的发育能力存在着差异,其中卵裂率差异不显著,但孤雌激活胚的囊胚发育率显著高于体外受精胚(21.7%,13.0%)。