Effects of different nuclear transfer and activation methods on the development of mouse somatic cell cloned embryos

A group of adult somatic cell cloned mice were obtained by using cumulus cells as nuclei donor cells. To study the effect of different nuclear transfer (NT) and activation methods on the development of mouse cloned embryos, embryos were reconstructed using two traditional NT methods (electrofusion and direct injection) and four activation treatments (electric pulse, ethanol, SrCl2 and electric pulse combined with SrCl2). The data showed that the efficiency of reconstruction using the direct injection method is significantly higher (90.7%) than that of the electrofusion method (49.7%). Parthenogenetic embryos can develop to blastocyst stage with three activation conditions, including ethanol, electric pulse and SrCl2; however, the rates of development to blastocyst after ethanol and electric pulse acti-vation (52.4%, 54.2%) are significantly lower than after SrCl2 activation (76.9%). Treatment of embryos for 6 h with 10 mmol/L SrCl2 was found to be the best condition for activation of parthenogenetic as well as reconstructed embryos. By contrast, reconstructed embryos failed to develop to blastocyst stage after being activated by ethanol. The use of either injection or electrofusion for embryo reconstruction affected the pre-implantation development. However, after transfer in pseudopregnant mice, cloned mice were obtained from both methods.     

Cloned pigs derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos cultured in vitro at low oxygen tension

Great progress have been made in animal cloning in China, as evidenced by the live births of cloned cat- tle[1,2], goats[3,4], and sheep[5]. In contrast, pig cloning is still in its infancy though limited fundamental studieshave been conducted[6]. It is g…     

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…     

Comparative pluripotency analysis of mouse embryonic stem cells derived from wild-type and infertile hermaphrodite somatic cell nuclear transfer blastocysts

Therapeutic cloning, whereby embryonic stem cells （ESCs） are derived from patient-specific cloned blastocysts via somatic cell nuclear transfer （SCNT）, holds great promise for treating many human diseases using regenerative medicine. Teratoma formation and germline transmission have been used to confirm the pluripotency of mouse stem cells, but human embryonic stem cells （hESCs） have not been proven to be fully pluripotent owing to the ethical impossibility of testing for germ line transmis- sion, which would be the strongest evidence for full pluripotency. Therefore, formation of differentiated cells from the three somatic germ layers within a teratoma is taken as the best indicator of pluripotency in hESC lines. The possibility that these lines lack full multi- or pluripotency has not yet been evaluated. In this study, we established 16 mouse ESC lines, including 3 genetically defective nuclear transfer- ESC （ntESC） lines derived from SCNT blastocysts of infertile hermaphrodite F1 mice and 13 ntESC lines derived from SCNT blastocysts of normal F1 mice. We found that the defective ntESCs expressed all in vitro markers of pluripotency and could form teratomas that included derivatives from all three germ layers, but could not be transmitted via the germ line, in contrast with normal ntESCs. Our results in- dicate that teratoma formation assays with hESCs might be an insufficient standard to assess full pluripotency, although they do define multipotency to some degree. More rigorous standards are required to assess the safety of hESCs for therapeutic cloning.     

Production of transgenic calves by somatic cellnuclear transfer

Bovine fetal oviduct epithelial cells were transfected with constructed double marker selective vector(pCE-EGFP-IRES-Neo-dNdB) containing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and neomycin-resistant(Neo^r) genes by electroporation, and a transgenic cell line was obtained. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) was cartied out using the transgenic cells as nuclei donor. A total of 424 SCNT embryos were reconstructed and 208 (49.1%) of them developed to blastocyst stage. 17 blastocysts on D 7 after reconstruction were transferred to 17 surrogate calves,and 5 (29.4%) recipients were found to be pregnant. Three of them maintained to term and delivered three cloned calves.PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed the integration of transgene in all of the three cloned calves. In addition, expression of EGFP was detected in biopsy isolated from the transgenic cloned calves and fibroblasts derived from the biopsy. Our results suggest that transgenic calves could be efficiently produced by SCNT using transgenic cells as nuclei donor. Furthermore, all cloned animals could be ensured to be transgenic by efficiently pre-screening transgenic cells and SCNT embryos using the constructed double marker selective vector.     

Somatic cell bovine cloning: Effect of donor cell and recipients

Nuclear transfer (NT) is an efficient technique for assessing the developmental potential of a nucleus and for analyzing the interactions between the donor nucleus and the recipient cytoplasm. In amphibians, thought nuclei of adult kerationocytes support development to the juvenile, tadpole stage, no development to the adult stage was re- ported[1], leaving open the question of whether a different- tiated adult nucleus can be fully reprogrammed. The first cloned offspring developed from differ…     

DNA methylation status of H19 and Xist genes in lungs of somatic cell nuclear transfer bovines

In somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technologies,the donor cell’s nuclei need to be epigenetically reprogrammed for embryonic development. The incomplete reprogramming of donor cell nuclei has been implicated as a primary reason for the low efficiency of SCNT. DNA methylation is a major epige-netic modification of the genome that regulates crucial aspects of genome function,including estab-lishment of genomic imprinting. In order to make sure whether the DNA methylation reprogramming is efficient in SCNT animals,we analyzed the DNA methylation status of two imprinting genes,H19 and Xist,in lungs of deceased SCNT bovines that died within 48 h of birth using bisulfite sequencing analysis. Our findings demonstrated that cloned bovines showed significantly lower DNA methylation of H19 than controls (P<0.05),and three tested CpGs sites (1,2,3) exhibited unmethylation in one cloned bovine (9C3); however,Xist showed similar DNA methylation levels between clones and con-trols,and both showed hypermethylation (96.11% and 86.67%).     

楸树体细胞胚胎发生的研究

以楸树近成熟种子培养无菌苗,以无菌苗子叶和下胚轴为外植体进行体细胞胚胎发生研究,观察了体细胞胚胎的发育过程,分析了不同生长调节物质对楸树体胚发生的影响。结果表明：各培养基均能诱导出愈伤组织;1/2MS+0.01 mg/L NAA+1.00 mg/L 6-BA可调整愈伤至胚性愈伤,是体细胞胚胎诱导频率最高的培养基;带少量愈伤的体胚可在1/2MS0和1/2MS+1.00 mg/L 6-BA+0.01 mg/L NAA的培养基上增殖,且增殖系数较大。     

成纤维细胞和ES细胞在小鼠和兔去核卵母细胞内发育

以昆明白小鼠成纤维细胞和胚胎干（ES）细胞作为供核细胞,以昆明白小鼠和日本大耳白兔的MⅡ期去核卵母细胞作为受体,采用核移植方法,构楚了克隆胚胎．在同种克隆中,以ES细胞为供核细胞的克隆胚胎卵裂率明显低于以成纤维细胞为供核细胞的克隆胚胎卵裂率（24．4％相对于56．9％,P〈0．05）,1．8％的ES细胞克隆胚胎发育到囊胚阶段,而成纤维细胞克隆胚胎没能发育到囊胚阶段;在异种克隆中,以ES细胞为供核细胞的克隆胚胎卵裂率（89．6％）和囊胚发育率（18．8％）明显高于以成纤维细胞为供核细胞的克隆胚胎卵裂率（54．2％）和囊胚发育率（4．2％）．     

Clone of Chinese Jinan red-cross yellow cattle and evaluation of reproductive characteristics of cloned calf

Somatic cell clone technology is a viable approach to preserving endangered livestock and wildlife genetic resources. In the present research, somatic cell nuclear transfer （SCNT） was performed using granulose cells from the critical endangered Chinese red-cross yellow cattle as donor cells. A total of 211 oocytes were manipulated and 166 （79%） of them were successfully enucleated. 112 （67.4%） SCNT embryos were reconstructed, 94 （83%） of them cleaved, and 48 （43 %） of them developed to blastocyst stage. SCNT blastocysts were transferred to 6 Holstein recipients, and 2 （33%） of them were found to be pregnant. One of them maintained to term and delivered a calf, whereas another aborted. Effect of different fusion buffer （mannitol vs. Zimmerman fusion buffer） and different activation methods （calcium ionophore＋6-DMAP vs. cycloheximide＋CB） on fusion rate and development of SCNT embryos were investigated. The results indicated that： （i） on condition of two DC pulses of 2.5 kV/cm for 10 μs each, fusion rates were higher in mannitol solution than in Zimmerman fusion buffer （71% vs. 61%, respectively, p 〈 0.05）, but the blastocysts rates did not differ between two treatments （36 % vs. 39 %, p〉0.05 ）; （ii） There was no significant difference in development rates to the blastocyst stage for SCNT embryos activated by calcium ionophore＋6-DMAP or by cycloheximide＋CB （42% vs. 46%, respectively, p〉0.05）. Microsatellite DNA analysis examining 28 loci confirmed that the cloned calf was genetically identical to the donor Jinan red-cross yellow cattle and different from the recipient females. Growth and reproductive performance of cloned cow were evaluated, and there were no difference i cross-red n it between cloned and normal control Jinan yellow cattle. Furthermore, the cloned yellow cow has delivered a healthy yellow calf.     

Calcium-releasing activity induced by nuclei of mouse fertilized early embryos

At fertilization,repectitive transient rises of intracellular calcium concentration occur in all mammals studied so far .It has been shown that calcium rises could be induced when mouse fertilized 1-,2-cell nuclei were trans-planted into unfertilized eggs and that the reconstituted embryo could be activated .Howerver,whecther the capability of inducing calcium rises occurs in all stages of mammalian embryos remains unknown ,In this study ,by using the nuclear transplantation technique and measurement of intracellular calcium rises in living cells,we showed that only the nuclei from mouse fertilized 1-cell and 2-cell embryos ,neither the nuclei from 4-,8-cell and ethanol activated parthe-nogenetic embryos nor 2 or 3 nuclei of electrofused 4-cell stage syncytium ,have calcium -releasing activity when they were transferred into unfertilized mature oocytes,Our results indicate that the calcium-releasing activity in nuclei of 1-,2-cell embryos is produced during fertilization and exists at the special stage of fertilized early embryos.These sug-gested that the capacity of inducting calcium release activity in fertilized early embryos is important for normal embryonic development.     

刺槐体细胞胚发生的同步化调控

为了建立一个高频率、同步化发生的体细胞胚培养系统,以二倍体刺槐为材料,对影响刺槐体细胞胚同步化发生的培养基渗透压、培养基中添加的植物生长调节剂、低温等培养环境条件以及悬浮培养结合看护培养方法进行了研究,建立了刺槐体细胞胚同步发生体系.结果表明:1)4 ℃低温条件下处理7 d的胚性愈伤组织,最有利于刺槐体细胞胚的同步化诱导,同步化率可达37.3%;2)培养基中蔗糖质量浓度为50 g/L最适宜调控刺槐的体细胞胚同步化发生,同步化率可达35.0%;3)培养基中的2,4-二氯苯氧乙酸(2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid,2,4-D)质量浓度为0.1 mg/L时最适宜体细胞胚同步化的调控,体细胞胚发生的同步化率可达43.6%,同时对畸形胚的发生有较好的控制作用;4)将悬浮培养的胚性细胞用50目筛(孔径0.28 mm)过滤,将留在筛上的细胞团接种到铺有滤纸的半固体体细胞胚诱导培养基上(培养基为MS(Murashige & Skoog)+NAA(naphthylacetic acid)0.5 mg/L+ BA(benzyladenine)0.5 mg/L+2-吗啉乙磺酸(MES)500 mg/L+谷氨酰胺 500 mg/L+水解酪蛋白500 mg/L+蔗糖 30 g/L+琼脂3 g/L),培养21 d后,球形胚大量发生,占到总胚状体数目的67.3%.本结果可为其他植物种类的体细胞胚同步化调控研究提供参考.     

Aberrant DNA methylation in cloned ovine embryos

By using the approach of immunofluorescence staining with an antibody against 5-methylcytosine （5MeC）, the present study detected the DNA methylation patterns of cloned ovine embryos. The embryos derived from in vitro fertilization were also examined for reference purpose. The results showed that： （1） during the preimplantation development, cloned embryos displayed a similar demethylation profile to the fertilized embryos; that is, the methylation level decreased to the lowest at 8-cell stage, and then increased again at morulae stage. However, methylation level was obviously higher in cloned embryos than in stage-matched fertilized embryos, especially at 8-cell stage and afterwards; （2） at blastocyst stage, the methylation pattern in cloned embryos was different from that in fertilized embryos. In cloned blastocyst, inner cell mass （ICM） exhibited a comparable level to trophectoderm cells （TE）, while in in-vitro fertilized blastocyst the methylation level of ICM was lower than that of TE, which is not consistent with that reported by other authors. These results indicate that DNA methylation is abnormally reprogrammed in cloned embryos, implying that aberrant DNA methylation reprogramming may be one of the factors causing cloned embryos developmental failure.     

杂交鹅掌楸体胚发生过程的起源及发育过程

以杂交鹅掌楸体细胞胚为材料,利用细胞学技术研究杂交鹅掌楸体细胞胚的起源及发育过程。结果表明:以杂交鹅掌楸未成熟胚为材料,比较容易形成胚性愈伤组织,胚性愈伤组织细胞结构致密、胚性细胞小、直径相等、细胞质浓厚,细胞内大量积累淀粉等物质,胚性愈伤组织表面的一些核质比大的单细胞发育成单细胞原胚,单细胞原胚有厚壁包围,呈生理隔离状态,后经过细胞分裂建立极性,细胞分裂经过球形胚、心形胚、鱼雷胚最后发育有茎段、根端及V形维管束系统的成熟子叶胚。     

哺乳动物克隆的现状和研究进展

 哺乳动物细胞克隆是20世纪末生命科学领域最引人注目的高新技术,该技术对于优良种畜的复制、减少试验用动物数目、动物遗传多样性保存及濒危动物挽救、转基因动物培育等方面具有重要意义。近年来克隆技术发展迅速,多种哺乳动物相继克隆成功,但也存在克隆效率太低、克隆动物表型正常而实质异常的问题。本文详细阐述了克隆效率太低、克隆动物表型正常而实质异常问题,介绍了当前动物克隆技术的发展现状,并对动物克隆涉及的技术进行了总结和概括,着重介绍了卵母细胞的去核方法和重组胚的构建方法。     

向日葵未成熟胚体细胞胚胎发生的研究

以不同基因型向日葵未成熟胚为材料,从幼胚的大小、蔗糖浓度、碳水化合物(糖类)、激素(2,4-D和6-BA)等方面探讨了向日葵体细胞胚胎发生的影响因素.结果表明:幼胚≤2 mm时,体细胞胚胎发生频率较高(45.5%);体细胞胚胎发生的适宜培养基为MS 0.4 mg/ L 2,4-D 120 g/ L蔗糖.     

Production of human lysozyme-transgenic cloned porcine embryos by somatic nuclear transfer

Due to their physiology and organ size, pigs have significant potential as human disease models and as organ transplantation donors. Genetic modification of pigs could provide benefits for both agriculture and human medicine. In this study, five fetal pig fibroblast cell lines from two species (Wuzhishan and Landrace pigs) were transfected using double-marked human lysozyme (HLY) plasmids (pBC1-HLY-GFP-NEO) by a liposome-mediated method. The ratio of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing cells was >95% in sw7, sw8, slw3 and slw6 cell lines, but only 49.3% in slw9 cells. Cells from the four highly transgenic lines were used as nuclear donors to construct embryos, which were then cultured after fusion and activation by electric stimulation. The rate of cleavage was 76.7%, 48 h after activation. After 7 days, 18.5% of cleaved eggs had developed to the blastocyst stage and 93.3% of blastocysts were GFP-positive. These results indicate that transgenic fetal pig fibroblast cell lines could be obtained by a liposome-mediated method, though the transfection efficiency varied between cell lines. Reconstructed embryos derived from transgenic cells could successfully develop into blastocysts, most of which were GFP-positive.     

克隆猴在中国率先突破,到底靠的是什么?

 中国科学家孙强研究团队利用类似克隆羊多莉的体细胞克隆技术,在国际上率先获得了克隆猴的成功,这一成果于2018年1月25日发表在《Cell》上。本文回顾了克隆猴的技术流程和难点、体细胞克隆动物简史及国内外克隆猴不成功的历史,点评了克隆猴成功的关键和意义,指出需要更多的实验室来推动该技术的优化。     

Nuclear reprogramming by nuclear transplantation and defined transcription factors

In the past ten years, great breakthroughs have been achieved in the nuclear reprogramming area. It has been demonstrated that highly differentiated somatic cell genome could be reprogrammed to a pluripotent state, which indicates that differentiated cell fate is not irreversible. Nuclear transplantation and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell generation are the two major approaches to inducing reprogramming of differentiated somatic cell genome. In the present review, we will summarize the recent progress of nuclear reprogramming and further discuss the potential to generate patient specific pluripotent stem cells from differentiated somatic cells for therapeutic purpose. Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2005AA210930)