We determined the transcript content of three genes involved in the metabolism of glucocorticoids (GC) in bovine in vitro fertilized embryos (2-blastomere stage until hatched blastocyst), trophoblast as well as the oviduct (Day 2-4 of the estrous cycle) and endometrium (Day 16 of the cycle and pregnancy). Since mRNA expression of the glucocorticoid receptor and two enzymes responsible for GC pr...

Human embryos frequently harbor large-scale complex chromosomal errors that impede normal development. Affected embryos may fail to implant although many first breach the endometrial epithelium and embed in the decidualizing stroma before being rejected via mechanisms that are poorly understood. Here we show that developmentally impaired human embryos elicit an endoplasmic stress response in hu...

Currently, no early pregnancy marker has been identified in the bitch. However, significantly decreased concentrations of heat-shock protein (HSP) 70 and increased activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2,9 were detected in serum from bitches during the pre-implantation period between days 5 and 13 after mating, that is, 2-3 days after ovulation as determined by the measurement of progeste...

Cytokinesis and cell division during pre-implantation embryonic development occur as an orchestrated spatiotemporal program. Cleavage, compaction, and blastulation in pre-implantation embryos are essential for successful implantation and pregnancy. Their alteration is associated with chromosomal imbalance and loss of developmental competence. In this study, we evaluated the time of cleavage and...

Serotonin is reported to be present in early embryos of many species and plays an important role in early patterning. Since it is a fluorophore, it can be directly visualized using fluorescence microscopy. Here, we use three-photon microscopy to image serotonin in live pre-implantation mouse embryos. We find that it is present as puncta averaging 1.3 square microns and in concentrations as high...

BACKGROUND In a previous study, we investigated the short-term effects of in utero retinoic acid (RA) exposure on early development at the cleavage stage before implantation to understand the possible roles of RA in blastocyst formation. We designed the present study to investigate the long-term effects of RA exposure on pre-implantation embryos in vivo and in vitro. METHOD To evaluate late p...

Landmark events occur in a coordinated manner during pre-implantation development of the mammalian embryo, yet the regulatory network that orchestrates these events remains largely unknown. Here, we present the first systematic investigation of the network in pre-implantation mouse embryos using morpholino-mediated gene knockdowns of key embryonic stem cell (ESC) factors followed by detailed tr...