Abstract
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 or presence of the ER stress inhibitor tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA). Developing embryos were collected at days 3 to 7 of culture for assessment of ER stress status, incidence of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), development and total cell number. In the absence of TUDCA treatment, late-cleaving embryos exhibited ER stress, higher incidence of DNA DSBs, as well as reductions in development to the blastocyst stage and total embryo cell numbers. Treatment of late-cleaving embryos with TUDCA mitigated these effects and markedly improved embryo quality and development. These results demonstrate the importance of stress coping responses in early developing embryos, and that reduction of ER stress is a potential means to improve embryo quality and developmental competence.
Highlights
Embryo death during early developmental stages is a leading component of infertility
To assess the effects of resolving inherent endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress on embryo development, both early- and late-cleaving embryos were treated with tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), an ER stress inhibitor
ER stress, DNA damage and embryo development cleaving embryos with TUDCA did not result in a significant increase in the rate of development to the blastocyst stage (Fig 1A)
Summary
Embryo death during early developmental stages is a leading component of infertility. Most naturally fertilized oocytes are unable to survive beyond the implantation stage[1]. It is well documented that less than 50% of embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) are able to establish pregnancy either in humans or livestock[2,3,4]. Such failures are attributable to many factors including gamete integrity and quality, genetic and genomic defects, and environmental factors affecting the embryo developmental milieu, such as the health, and hormonal and metabolic status of the zygote/embryo host[5,6,7]. Early-cleaving embryos begin to divide shortly after fertilization or activation, generally within the first 24 h
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