Gene expression profiling of the pre-implantation mouse embryo by microarray analysis: comparison of the two-cell stage and two-cell block.
To improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying early embryo development, further characterization of gene activity in oocytes and embryos is urgently required. The transition from the two-cell to four-cell stage is particularly important in pre-implantation embryonic development, as it involves transcriptional reprogramming and cellular differentiation. In this study, we used a 7.4 K cDNA microarray to screen mRNA transcript levels in the pre-implantation mouse embryo. Real-time PCR was used to confirm microarray data. We profiled 7,410 genes and identified 4,562 genes that were differentially expressed in the pre-implantation embryo. We selected a total of 248 genes with significant expression changes that are functionally involved in the two-cell and two-cell block embryo. Of these genes, 114 were down-regulated and the remainder (n=134) were up-regulated in the two-cell embryo. This study provides a developmental map of a large number of genes in the pre-implantation mouse embryo with particular emphasis on gene expression in the two-cell embryo and two-cell block embryo. Further investigations based on this data will provide a better understanding of the effects of various external conditions and may facilitate comparative analysis of pre-implantation development in other mammalian species, including human.
Jeong
Hye-Jin
HJ
Genome Research Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility of Korea, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Seoul 135-081, Republic of Korea.
Kim
Hyun Jae
HJ
Lee
Sook-Hwan
SH
Kwack
Kyubum
K
Ahn
So-Yeon
SY
Choi
Yoon-Jeong
YJ
Kim
Hyung-Goo
HG
Lee
Kyo-Won
KW
Lee
Chung-No
CN
Cha
Kwang-Yul
KY
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000378:metabolism*; D002970:Cleavage Stage, Ovum / Q000378:metabolism*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism