Recognition of early determinants of disease onset has sparked an interest in paternally transmitted factors and their impact on the developing embryo. Acrylamide (AA), a widely distributed xenobiotic compound, is converted to its active metabolite glycidamide (GA) by the CYP2E1 enzyme. Based on its capacity to induce dominant lethal mutations, we hypothesized that paternal GA exposure would ha...

Technological advances in manipulation of mammalian embryos outside the maternal environment have resulted in opportunities for study of preimplantation embryo development, identification of developmental phenomena that are unique to mammals, and further improvement of technology. Mammalian embryos may be cultured in vitro at 37 C for up to several days or they may be stored at -196 C indefinit...

Preimplantation embryo development involves four stages: fertilization, cell cleavage, morula and blastocyst formation. During these stages, maternal and zygotic epigenetic factors play crucial roles. The gene expression profile is changed dramatically, chromatin is modified and core histone elements undergo significant changes. Each preimplantation embryo stage has its own characteristic epige...

CUL4-RING ubiquitin E3 ligases (CRL4s) were recently shown to exert their specificity through the binding of various substrate receptors, which bind the CUL4 interactor DNA damaged binding protein1 (DDB1) through a WDxR motif. In a segregation-based mutagenesis screen, we identified a WDxR motif-containing protein (WDR55) required for male and female gametogenesis and seed development. We demon...

Preimplantation embryo development follows a series of critical events. Remarkable epigenetic modifications and reprogramming of gene expression occur to activate the embryonic genome. In the early stages of preimplantation embryo development, maternal mRNAs direct embryonic development. Throughout early embryonic development, a differential methylation pattern is maintained although some show ...

During the development of the embryo, a process of cephalocaudal and lateral folding takes place with the result that part of the endoderm-lined cavity of the secondary or definitive yolk sac is incorporated into the embryo to form the primitive gut. In the cephalic part of the embryo, the primitive gut forms a blind ending tube, the foregut, separated from the ectodermally lined stomatodaeum b...

There is increasing evidence that even before implantation, human development is regulated by embryonically and maternally derived growth factors. Studies in other mammalian species have shown that growth factors and their receptors are expressed by the preimplantation embryo and the reproductive tract. Furthermore, a number of growth factors have been shown to affect rate of embryo development...

background: high dietary fat consumption may alter oocyte development and embryonic development. this prospective study was conducted to determine the relation between dietary fat consumption level, its food sources and the assisted reproduction parameters. methods: a prospective study was conducted on 240 infertile women. in assisted reproduction treatment cycle, fat consumption and major food...

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of a nitric oxide (NO) donor on embryo development in vitro and on implantation of embryos in vivo in mice. Mouse embryos (2-cell) were incubated in media containing different concentrations of diethylenetriamine/NO (DETA/NO), a nitric oxide donor, and development was monitored daily for 4 days. Specificity of NO effects was assessed by ...

Early-cleaving embryos are known to have better capacity to reach the blastocyst stage and produce better quality embryos compared to late-cleaving embryos. To investigate the significance of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress on early embryo cleavage kinetics and development, porcine embryos produced in vitro were separated into early- and late-cleaving groups and then cultured in the absence o...