Chimerization of highly asynchronous murine blastomeres: developmental alteration?
Previous studies have shown that early embryos contain information that can alter the developmental fate of adjacent cells and transferred nuclei. In this report we show that a specific combination of cells from early murine embryos, a single blastomere from an eight-cell embryo placed under the zona pellucida with a two-cell embryo, results in a difference in incorporation of 3H-uridine and expression of two protein bands between the chimeric treatment group and the nonchimeric controls, a single blastomere from an eight-cell embryo in a separate zona pellucida and a two-cell embryo. The incorporation of 3H-uridine in the chimeric group and nonchimeric control group was significantly different at 45 hours after chimerization (P less than .02). A stage-specific protein band (52k) on a polyacrylamide gel detected with fluorography was found to be qualitatively different (present more often; P less than .01) and another stage-specific protein band (48k) was found to be quantitatively different (more protein; P = .07) in the chimeric treatment vs. the nonchimeric controls at 45 hours after chimerization. These results suggest communication between the cells resulting in a change in their incorporation of uridine and protein synthetic profiles.
Prather
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RS
Endocrinology-Reproductive Physiology Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
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D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D001757:Blastomeres / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002678:Chimera; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D051379:Mice; D009028:Morula / Q000502:physiology; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012313:RNA / Q000096:biosynthesis; D014529:Uridine / Q000378:metabolism; D015044:Zona Pellucida
D012313:RNA; D014529:Uridine