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Ma Y, Gu M, Chen L, Shen H, Pan Y, Pang Y, Miao S, Tong R, Huang H, Zhu Y, Sun L. Recent advances in critical nodes of embryo engineering technology. Theranostics 2021; 11:7391-7424. [PMID: 34158857 PMCID: PMC8210615 DOI: 10.7150/thno.58799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The normal development and maturation of oocytes and sperm, the formation of fertilized ova, the implantation of early embryos, and the growth and development of foetuses are the biological basis of mammalian reproduction. Therefore, research on oocytes has always occupied a very important position in the life sciences and reproductive medicine fields. Various embryo engineering technologies for oocytes, early embryo formation and subsequent developmental stages and different target sites, such as gene editing, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technologies, have all been established and widely used in industrialization. However, as research continues to deepen and target species become more advanced, embryo engineering technology has also been developing in a more complex and sophisticated direction. At the same time, the success rate also shows a declining trend, resulting in an extension of the research and development cycle and rising costs. By studying the existing embryo engineering technology process, we discovered three critical nodes that have the greatest impact on the development of oocytes and early embryos, namely, oocyte micromanipulation, oocyte electrical activation/reconstructed embryo electrofusion, and the in vitro culture of early embryos. This article mainly demonstrates the efforts made by researchers in the relevant technologies of these three critical nodes from an engineering perspective, analyses the shortcomings of the current technology, and proposes a plan and prospects for the development of embryo engineering technology in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youwen Ma
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Mingwei Gu
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Liguo Chen
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Hao Shen
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yifan Pan
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yan Pang
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Sheng Miao
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Ruiqing Tong
- Cardiology, Dushuhu Public Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou 215000, China
| | - Haibo Huang
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yichen Zhu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and Cambridge-Suda Genomic Resource Center, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Lining Sun
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
- State Key Laboratory of Robotics & Systems, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
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Jeena LM, Kumar D, Rahangdale S, Singh AP, Sarkhel BC. Effect of cumulus cells of cumulus-oocyte complexes on in vitro maturation, embryonic developmental and expression pattern of apoptotic genes after in vitro fertilization in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Anim Biotechnol 2019; 31:135-141. [PMID: 30905313 DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2018.1554580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, the potential of different grades of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) for in vitro maturation (IVM) and embryonic development was assessed. Further, the association of the expression pattern of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 and pro-apoptotic Bax genes in embryonic development was analyzed. Abattoir derived oocytes were graded into grade A and B based on surrounding cumulus rings. Out of 1050 ovaries, a total number of 770 and 1360, were of grade A and B COCs, respectively, were aspirated. After IVM, grade A COCs had a significantly higher number of polar bodies (92.04 ± 0.60%) as compared to grade B (85.88 ± 0.46%). On IVF and embryo culture, grade A COCs produced the significantly higher rate of cleavage and blastocyst (90.44 ± 0.71% and 41.55 ± 0.96%) as compared to grade B COCs (79.77 ± 0.76% and 30.44 ± 0.96%). The transcriptional analysis of apoptotic genes expression by Real-time PCR revealed a significantly higher expression of Mcl-1 gene in embryos of grade A as compared to grade B, whereas, the relative expression of Bax gene was down-regulated in grade A than grade B embryos. Thus it was concluded that the pattern of apoptotic genes expression in early-stage embryos can be used as a marker gene to predict the developmental competence of COCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lalit Mohan Jeena
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Dharmendra Kumar
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Sandeep Rahangdale
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Ajit Pratap Singh
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Bikash Chandra Sarkhel
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Dua D, Nagoorvali D, Chauhan MS, Palta P, Mathur P, Singh MK. Calcium ionophore enhanced developmental competence and apoptotic dynamics of goat parthenogenetic embryos produced in vitro. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 2019; 55:159-168. [PMID: 30737632 DOI: 10.1007/s11626-019-00322-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Parthenogenetically developed embryos are efficient sources of in vitro embryo production, having less ethical issue and being useful for investigating culture conditions/treatments, early developmental, genomic studies, and homonymous source of stem cells. Keeping its advantages in mind, we aimed to study the effects of different activating agents on embryo production and its quality and gene expression. In the present study, 1348 immature oocytes recovered were parthenogenetically developed to embryos. Usable-quality immature oocytes were collected by puncturing the surface follicles and matured in in vitro maturation (IVM) medium for 27 h in a humidified 5% CO2 incubator at 38.5°C. The matured oocytes were parthenogenetically activated by exposure to 5 μM calcium ionophore for 5 min or 7% ethanol for 7 min sequentially followed by 4 h incubation in 2 mM 6-DMAP and then in vitro cultured (IVC) in RVCL/G-2 medium for 8 days. Matured oocytes were activated by calcium ionophore, the cleavage rate observed was 76.67 ± 3.47%, and further they developed into 4-cell, 8-16-cell, morula, blastocyst, and hatched blastocyst with 85.30 ± 1.57%, 70.60 ± 2.00%, 45.05 ± 2.66%, 22.89 ± 2.40%, and 5.70 ± 1.97%, respectively. Whereas ethanol-activated oocytes showed cleavage rate of 87.60 ± 1.70% and further culture developed into 4-cell, 8-16 cell, morula, blastocyst, and hatched blastocyst with 86.14 ± 1.03%, 71.56 ± 2.21%, 40.90 ± 2.45%, 19.02 ± 1.26%, and 2.22 ± 0.38%, respectively. Blastocyst developed from calcium ionophore-activated oocytes showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher total cell number (282.25 ± 27.02 vs 206.00 ± 40.46) and a lower apoptotic index (2.42 ± 0.46 vs 4.07 ± 1.44) than blastocyst developed from ethanol-activated oocytes. The relative expression of anti-apoptotic genes (BCL2, BCL2A1, MCL) at different stages of embryos produced by either calcium ionophore or ethanol activation was found to be increased in earlier stages and decreased in later stages of embryonic development. Similarly, when these embryos were subjected to pro-apoptotic genes (BAX, BAD, BAK), expression was found to be slightly higher in blastocysts than other stages. This study shows that calcium ionophore-activated blastocysts were developmentally more competent than the ethanol-activated blastocysts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diksha Dua
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, 132001, India
| | - D Nagoorvali
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, 132001, India
| | - M S Chauhan
- ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdum, Mathura, 281122, India
| | - P Palta
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, 132001, India
| | - P Mathur
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, 201303, India
| | - M K Singh
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, 132001, India.
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Zhang S, Xiang S, Yang J, Shi J, Guan X, Jiang J, Wei Y, Luo C, Shi D, Lu F. Optimization of parthenogenetic activation of rabbit oocytes and development of rabbit embryo by somatic cell nuclear transfer. Reprod Domest Anim 2018; 54:258-269. [PMID: 30220080 DOI: 10.1111/rda.13344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The present study explored a suitable parthenogenetic activation (PA) procedure for rabbit oocytes and investigated the developmental potential of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos using rabbit foetal fibroblasts (RFFs). The electrical activation had the optimal rate of blastocyst (14.06%) when oocytes were activated by three direct current (DC) pulses (40 V/mm, 20 μs each) followed by 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) and cycloheximide (CHX) treatment; the blastocyst rate of ionomycin (ION) + 6-DMAP + CHX (12.07%) activation was higher than that of ION + 6-DMAP (8.6%) activation or ION + CHX (1.24%) activation; there was no significant difference in blastocyst rate between ION + 6-DMAP + CHX and DC + 6-DMAP + CHX groups. The blastocyst rate of ION + 6-DMAP + CHX-activated oocytes in the basic rabbit culture medium (M-199) + 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS; 14.28%) was higher than that in buffalo conditioned medium (5.75%) or G1/G2 medium (0), and the blastocyst rate was increased when M-199 + 10% FBS was supplemented with amino acids. Refreshing culture medium every day or every other day significantly increased the blastocyst rate. Treatment of donor cells with 0.5% FBS for 3-5 days increased blastocyst rate of SCNT embryos (33.33%) than no serum starvation (22.47%) or 0.5% FBS treatment for 6-9 days (23.61%); the blastocyst rate of SCNT embryos derived from nontransgenic RFFs was higher than that derived from transgenic RFFs by electroporation. The blastocyst development ability of SCNT embryos derived from RFFs by electroporation (32.22%) was higher than that of liposome (19.11%) or calcium phosphate (20.00%) transfection, and only the embryos from electroporation group have the EGFP expression (24.44%). In conclusion, this study for the first time systematically optimized the conditions for yield of rabbit embryo by SCNT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shun Zhang
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.,Department of Reproductive Medical Center, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China
| | - Shu Xiang
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.,Department of Reproductive Medical Center, Kunming Calmette International Hospital, Kunming, China
| | - Jinji Yang
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Jinyue Shi
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Xiaomei Guan
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Jianrong Jiang
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Yingming Wei
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Chan Luo
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Deshun Shi
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Fenghua Lu
- Animal Reproduction Institute, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
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KUMARI DIMPLE, KUMAR DHARMENDRA, RAHANGDALE SANDEEP, JEENA LALITMOHAN, SINGH AJITPRATAP, SARKHEL BIKASHCHANDRA. Developmental competence of goat oocytes vitrified at immature and mature stage in comparsion to fresh oocytes after in vitro fertilization using cauda epididymal spermatozoa. THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCES 2017. [DOI: 10.56093/ijans.v87i11.75878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
The oocytes were cryopreserved at 2 developmental check points, viz. immature and metaphase II stage, and the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was assessed as compared to fresh oocytes. The oocytes were cryopreserved by solid surface vitrification technique using equilibration media (4% ethylene glycol) followed by vitrification media (0.5 M sucrose + 35% ethylene glycol + 0.5% polyvinyl pyrollidone). The mature oocytes were pre-treatedwith cytochalasin B for 30 min before vitrification. The vitrified-thawed oocytes of both groups as well fresh oocytes were fertilized with buck epididymal sperm. The results revealed a significantly higher rate of embryonic development in vitrified-thawed immature oocytes as compared to that in vitrified-thawed mature oocytes at all the embryonic stages. The embryonic developmental rate under fresh oocyte group was significantly higher than both vitrified groups. Results indicated that the immature goat oocytes could be a better candidate for long term storage of female germplasm as well as dissemination into distant places.
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Kumar D, Sarkhel BC. Differential expression pattern of key regulatory developmental genes in pre-implant zona free cloned vs in vitro fertilized goat embryos. Gene Expr Patterns 2017; 25-26:118-123. [PMID: 28669682 DOI: 10.1016/j.gep.2017.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The success of Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) primarily depends on the extent of reprogramming of donor cells genome. The error of reprogramming may lead to inappropriate expression of embryonic genes at any stage of development. Under the present study the relative expression of different genes related to pluripotency (Oct-4 and Nanog), growth factors (IGF-2 and IGF-2R) and DNA methyltransferase gene (Dnmt-1) was evaluated in SCNT embryos at 8-16 cells, morula and blastocyst stages as compared to IVF group. In SCNT, significantly higher degree of relative expression was observed for Oct-4 in morula (1.41) and blastocysts (1.14) as compared to 8-16 cells (referral stage) whereas in IVF, a lower expression was observed at morula (0.82) stage. The expression of Nanog in SCNT embryos was increased significantly in morula (2.23) and decreased subsequently in blastocyst (0.56), whereas it was increased significantly from 8 to 16 cells to morula (1.62) and blastocyst (4.5) of IVF group. The IGF-2 and IGF-2R showed significantly higher expression rates in morula and blastocysts of SCNT (6.56, 5.90 and 1.11, 1.4) and IVF (8.69, 8.25 and 2.96, 3.91) embryos, respectively as compared to referral stage. The expression of Dnmt-1 was significantly higher in SCNT morula (1.29) and blastocyst (1.15) however in IVF, it was similar in 8-16 cells stage and morula but, higher in blastocyst (1.58). The dissimilar pattern of gene expression of SCNT might be a consequence of incomplete reprogramming of donor nucleus which resulted into lower blastocyst rate of SCNT as compared to IVF embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dharmendra Kumar
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, M.P., India
| | - Bikash Chandra Sarkhel
- Animal Biotechnology Centre, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, M.P., India.
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Kumar D, Sarkhel BC. Comparative assessment of development competence of zona-intact and zona-free cloned goat embryos produced by innovative micromanipulation tools. Livest Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2016.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Liu S, Cui K, Li HL, Sun JM, Lu XR, Shen KY, Liu QY, Shi DS. Comparison of chemical, electrical, and combined activation methods for in vitro matured porcine oocytes. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 2014; 51:103-12. [PMID: 25424832 DOI: 10.1007/s11626-014-9819-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2014] [Accepted: 09/04/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Factors influencing porcine oocyte activation were systematically studied. This study included (1) the effect of ionomycin plus various chemical agents on activation, (2) comparison of different electrical activation parameters, (3) optimization of combined activation, and (4) evaluation of the optimized protocols. The results showed that (1) blastocyst rates of ionomycin (Ion) + 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) (29.7 ± 1.1%), Ion + cytochalasin B (CB) + cycloheximide (CHX) (29.8 ± 1.2%), Ion + CB + 6-DMAP (30.4 ± 1.6%), and Ion + CB + CHX + 6-DMAP (30.2 ± 2.7%) were significantly higher than Ion + CHX (15.8 ± 1.5%, p < 0.05); (2) the parthenogenetic blastocyst formation of electrical activation was optimal when oocytes were activated by three direct current (DC) pulses of 1.00 kV cm(-1) for 80 μs (39.5 ± 1.1%); (3) blastocyst rates of DC + CB + CHX (55.4 ± 1.2%) and DC + CB + 6-DMAP (50.4 ± 2.9%) were significantly higher than DC + 6-DMAP, DC + CB + CHX + 6-DMAP, electrical activation, and chemical activation alone (p < 0.05); and (4) approximately 84% of parthenogenetic blastocysts yielded by the optimized protocol were diploid, which was significantly higher than that of electrical activation blastocysts (40%). Using the optimized electrical and combined activation protocol, high blastocyst rates were generated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (34.6 ± 1.1%), cytoplasmic microinjection (CI) (52.3 ± 2.2%), and handmade cloning (HMC) (31.2 ± 1.0%), respectively. This study concludes that the optimal activation protocol of in vitro matured porcine oocytes was combined activation with parameter as three DC pulses of 1.00 kV cm(-1) for 80 μs plus CB and CHX treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China
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Duggal G, Heindryckx B, Deroo T, De Sutter P. Use of pluripotent stem cells for reproductive medicine: are we there yet? Vet Q 2014; 34:42-51. [DOI: 10.1080/01652176.2014.891061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
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