Abstract

ECAT1 is a subunit of the subcortical maternal complex that is required for cell cycle progression during pre-implantation embryonic development; however, its exact function remains to be elucidated. Here we investigated the expression of ECAT1 in human ovarian tissue, oocytes and pre-implantation embryos and assessed its function by using RNA interference (RNAi) in oocytes. ECAT1 mRNA was highly expressed in human oocytes and zygotes, as well as in two-cell, four-cell and eight-cell embryos, but declined significantly in morulae and blastocysts. ECAT1 was expressed in the cytoplasm of oocytes and pre-implantation embryos and was localized more specifically in the cortical region than in the inner cytoplasm. RNAi experiments demonstrated that down-regulation of ECAT1 expression not only impaired spindle assembly and reduced maturation and fertilization rates of human oocytes but also decreased the cleavage rate of the resulting zygotes. In conclusion, our study indicates that ECAT1 may play a role in meiotic progression by maintaining the accuracy of spindle assembly in human oocytes, thus promoting oocyte maturation and subsequent development of the embryo.

Highlights

  • ECAT1 is a subunit of the subcortical maternal complex that is required for cell cycle progression during pre-implantation embryonic development; its exact function remains to be elucidated

  • We found that 88% of meiotic division (MII) oocytes (n = 17) from the ECAT1 short interfering RNA (siRNA) group had improper expression was significantly lower in the oocytes with ECAT1 siRNA injection. (C) ECAT1 expression was lower in the oocytes with ECAT1 siRNA injection. (D) The oocyte maturation rate was significantly decreased in the oocytes with ECAT1 siRNA injection as compared with controls

  • We systematically investigated the expression characteristics and function of ECAT1 in human oocytes

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Summary

Introduction

ECAT1 is a subunit of the subcortical maternal complex that is required for cell cycle progression during pre-implantation embryonic development; its exact function remains to be elucidated. We investigated the expression of ECAT1 in human ovarian tissue, oocytes and pre-implantation embryos and assessed its function by using RNA interference (RNAi) in oocytes. RNAi experiments demonstrated that down-regulation of ECAT1 expression impaired spindle assembly and reduced maturation and fertilization rates of human oocytes and decreased the cleavage rate of the resulting zygotes. A subcortical maternal complex (SCMC), which includes FILIA, FLOPED, MATER and TLE6, has been identified It is assembled during oocyte growth and is essential for zygotes to progress beyond the first embryonic cell division in mice[15–19]. Pre-implantation development of the embryo with a high incidence of aneuploidy and contributes to low-quality cell cycle progression[16]

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