Various types of stem cell lines have been derived from preimplantation or postimplantation mouse embryos: embryonic stem cell lines, epiblast stem cell lines, and trophoblast stem cell lines. It is not known if extraembryonic endoderm stem (XEN) cell lines can be derived from postimplantation mouse embryos. Here, we report the derivation of 77 XEN cell lines from 85 postimplantation embryos at...

clinical studies have shown that in pathological conditions such as endometriosis and reproductive tract infection (male and female) there is an activation status of macrophages that produce large quantities of nitric oxide (no) in addition to other effector molecules. large amounts of no may have embryotoxic roles and produce infertility. this study was designed to evaluate the effect of diffe...

Both the availability of methods to manipulate genes and the completion of the mouse genome sequence have led to the generation of thousands of genetically modified mouse lines that provide a new platform for the study of mammalian development and developmental diseases. Phenotyping of mouse embryos has traditionally been performed on fixed embryos by the use of ex vivo histological, optical an...

The vasculature is the earliest developing organ in mammals and its proper formation is critical for embryonic survival. MRI approaches have been used previously to analyze complex three-dimensional vascular patterns and defects in fixed mouse embryos. Extending vascular imaging to an in utero setting with potential for longitudinal studies would enable dynamic analysis of the vasculature in no...

The paper ?Formation of Genetically Mosaic Mouse Embryos and Early Development of Lethal (t12/t12)-Normal Mosaics,? by Beatrice Mintz [4], describes a technique to fuse two mouse [5] embryos into a single embryo. This work was published in the Journal of Experimental Zoology [6] in 1964. When two embryos are correctly joined before the 32-cell stage, the embryo will develop normally and exhibit...

Mammalian X-linked gene expression is highly regulated as female cells contain two and male one X chromosome (X). To adjust the X gene dosage between genders, female mouse preimplantation embryos undergo an imprinted form of X chromosome inactivation (iXCI) that requires both Rlim (also known as Rnf12) and the long non-coding RNA Xist. Moreover, it is thought that gene expression from the singl...

This protocol describes the preparation of mouse embryos for ultramicroscopy (UM), a powerful imaging technique that achieves precise and accurate three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of intact macroscopic specimens with micrometer resolution. In UM, a specimen in the size range of ∼1-15 mm is illuminated perpendicular to the observation pathway by two thin counterpropagating sheets of laser ...

This paper describes a technique for transplanting early postimplantation mouse embryos from their own implantation site to a decidua in another pregnant mouse. Evidence is provided that this procedure is compatible with their continued development. At a low frequency both 6th and 7th day embryos can re-establish themselves and continue apparently normal development and placentation for at leas...