title: Gene expression in early expanded parthenogenetic and in vitro fertilized bovine blastocysts.
abstract: Mammalian oocytes can undergo artificial parthenogenesis in vitro and develop to the blastocyst stage. In this study, using real-time PCR, we analyzed the expression of genes representative of essential events in development. In vitro matured oocytes were either fertilized or activated with ionomycin + 6-DMAP and cultured in simple medium. The pluripotency-related gene Oct3/4 was downregulated in parthenotes, while the de novo methylation DNMT3A gene was unchanged. Among the pregnancy recognition genes, IFN-t was upregulated, PGRMC1 was downregulated and PLAC8 was unchanged in parthenotes. Among the metabolism genes, SLC2A1 was downregulated, while AKR1B1, COX2, H6PD and TXN were upregulated in parthenotes; there was no difference in SLC2A5. Among the genes involved in compaction/blastulation, GJA1 expression increased in parthenotes, but no differences were detected within ATP1A1 and CDH1. Expression of p66(shc) and the Bax/Bcl2 ratio were higher in parthenotes, and there was no difference in p53. Parthenotes and embryos may differ in the way they stimulate apoptosis, with a preponderant role for p66(shc) within parthenotes. Differentially affected functions may also include pluripotency, de novo methylation and early embryonic signalling.
authors.affiliation: Animal Genetics and Reproduction, SERIDA, Gijón, Asturias, Spain. egomez@serida.org
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: José Néstor
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Caamaño
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bermejo-Alvarez
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Díez
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carrocera
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez-Adán
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000235:genetics*; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D010312:Parthenogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger