Background: It is known that acetylation level of the nuclear histones in cloned embryos is lower compare to normally developed embryos. Histone deacetylas inhibitors (HDACi) with improvement of acetylation level in these embryos can affect embryo quality in pre-implantation stage and expression level of different genes especially developmental genes. Materials and Methods: In this research, SA...

Background: Regulation of gene expression in mammalian embryos is not completely known. Pre-implantation embryos need maternal RNA and proteins synthesized during oogenesis, to regulate development before mater-embryo transition, as the grown oocyte and the 1-cell zygote are transcriptionally silent. There are some oocyte-specific genes called maternal effect genes which may account for this ea...

Many investigators are interested in finding the new cultural systems that can support the in vitro development of pre-implantation embryos better. Previous studies suggested that growth factors such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) are important in pre-implantation embryo development and implantation process. On the other hand, it is very important to support post thaw development of frozen em...

many investigators are interested in finding the new cultural systems that can support the in vitro development of pre-implantation embryos better. previous studies suggested that growth factors such as epidermal growth factor (egf) are important in pre-implantation embryo development and implantation process. on the other hand, it is very important to support post thaw development of frozen em...

During pre-implantation mouse development, embryos form blastocysts with establishment of the first two cell lineages: the trophectoderm (TE) which gives rise to the placenta, and the inner cell mass (ICM) which will form the embryo proper. Differentiation of TE is regulated by the transcription factor Caudal-related homeobox 2 (Cdx2), but the mechanisms which act upstream of Cdx2 expression re...

Our understanding of human pre-implantation development is limited by the availability of human embryos and cannot completely rely on mouse studies. Petropoulos et al. now provide an extensive transcriptome analysis of a large number of human pre-implantation embryos at single-cell resolution, revealing previously unrecognized features unique to early human development.

Objective(s): To evaluated the effects of melatonin on early embryo competence and the expression rate of the primary implantation receptors (ErbB1 and ErbB4). Materials and Methods: Two-cell mouse embryos were cultured in 3 groups: simple media, melatonin-treated (10-9 M melatonin) and Luzindole-treated (10-9 M luzindole). Then, the rate of ErbB1 and ErbB4 gene and protein expression, the leve...

In vitro culture of pre-implantation embryos is a key-step in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) protocols. In present work we examine the potential of microfluidic devices for pre-implantation human embryo culture, in comparison with conventional droplet-based culture (control). Donated frozen day-4 embryos are cultured for 72 h after thawing in both formats, and graded at four different...

The mechanisms regulating cell division during development of the mouse pre-implantation embryo are poorly understood. We have investigated whether bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is involved in controlling cell cycle during mouse pre-implantation development. We mapped and quantitated the dynamic activities of BMP signaling through high-resolution immunofluorescence imaging combined...