Autophagy is essential for preimplantation development of mouse embryos.
After fertilization, maternal proteins in oocytes are degraded and new proteins encoded by the zygotic genome are synthesized. We found that autophagy, a process for the degradation of cytoplasmic constituents in the lysosome, plays a critical role during this period. Autophagy was triggered by fertilization and up-regulated in early mouse embryos. Autophagy-defective oocytes derived from oocyte-specific Atg5 (autophagy-related 5) knockout mice failed to develop beyond the four- and eight-cell stages if they were fertilized by Atg5-null sperm, but could develop if they were fertilized by wild-type sperm. Protein synthesis rates were reduced in the autophagy-null embryos. Thus, autophagic degradation within early embryos is essential for preimplantation development in mammals.
Tsukamoto
Satoshi
S
Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan.
Kuma
Akiko
A
Murakami
Mirei
M
Kishi
Chieko
C
Yamamoto
Akitsugu
A
Mizushima
Noboru
N
D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D000071187:Autophagy-Related Protein 5; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D010312:Parthenogenesis; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011247:Pregnancy; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
C495773:Atg5 protein, mouse; D000071187:Autophagy-Related Protein 5; C480860:Map1lc3b protein, mouse; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins