Early in the development of many animals, before transcription begins, any change in the pattern of protein synthesis is attributed to a change in the translational activity or stability of mRNA in the egg and early embryo. As a result, translational control is critical for a variety of developmental decisions, including oocyte maturation and initiation of preimplantation development. In this s...

The human fertilized egg is not an embryo, but, more accurately, a conceptus, which contains all the information required to establish both the embryo and extraembryonic supporting tissues. The fertilized eggs of placental mammals, including humans, are entirely dependent upon the female's uterine environment for development to birth. At least half, possibly more, fertilized eggs, or potential ...

Vasectomy in laboratory animals is a crucial step in the production of surrogate female mice. The surrogate mothers play a key role in successful embryo transfer, most important steps for the production of transgenic animal models, investigation of the preimplantation embryo development, and revitalization of cryopreserved strains. Abdominal and scrotal surgeries are common surgical proce...

Enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (Ezh2) is essential for the development of the early mouse preimplantation embryo. Loss of Ezh2 results in embryonic lethality in mice. Ezh2-deficient embryos display impaired outgrowth potential, defective establishment of Ezh2-null embryonic stem (ES) cells and adherence and differentiation of the trophoblast layer into giant cells. We investigated if Ezh2 contro...

Preimplantation development is a complicated process, which involves many genes. We have investigated the expression patterns of 17 developmentally important genes and isoforms in early mouse embryos as well as in single cells of the mouse embryo. The comparison is an excellent example for showing the importance of studying heterogeneity among cell populations on the RNA level, which is being i...

Successful human development is dependent upon a cascade of events following fertilization. Unfortunately, knowledge of these critical events in humans is remarkably incomplete. Although hundreds of thousands of human embryos are cultured yearly at infertility centers worldwide, the vast majority fail to develop in culture or following transfer to the uterus. In this study, we sought to charact...

Prostaglandins participate in a variety of female reproductive processes, including ovulation, fertilization, embryo implantation and parturition. In particular, maternal prostacyclin (PGI(2)) is critical for embryo implantation and the action of PGI(2) is not mediated via its G-protein-coupled membrane receptor, IP, but its nuclear receptor, peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ)...

ADAM10 (A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease domain-containing protein 10) is a cell surface protein with a unique structure possessing both potential adhesion and protease domains. However, the role of ADAM10 in preimplantation stage embryos is not clear. In this study, we examined the expression patterns and functional roles of ADAM10 in porcine parthenotes during preimplantation development. Th...

OBJECTIVE To update and review the techniques and indications of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and preimplantation genetic screening (PGS). OPTIONS Discussion about the genetic and technical aspects of preimplantation reproductive techniques, particularly those using new cytogenetic technologies and embryo-stage biopsy. OUTCOMES Clinical outcomes of reproductive techniques followi...

Background Little is understood about the regulation of gene expression during early goat embryo development. This study investigated the expression profile of 19 genes, known to be critical for early embryo development in mouse and human, at five different stages of goat in vitro embryo development (oocyte, 8-16 cell, morula, day-7 blastocyst, and day 14 blastocyst). MaterialsAndMethods Stage-...