title: Epigallocatechin gallate promotes the development of mouse 2-cell embryos in vitro by regulating mitochondrial activity and expression of genes related to p53 signalling pathway.
abstract: Preliminary studies have found that the epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) at proper concentration could promote development of pre-implantation mouse embryos in vitro. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been well understood. In this study, we collected 1-cell embryos from Kunming (KM) mice, cultured them in M16 medium or M16 medium supplemented with 10 μg/mL EGCG and investigated the effects of EGCG on mitochondrial activity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level of 2-cell embryos. Furthermore, we explored expression differences of genes related to p53 signalling pathway in 2-cell embryos using a PCR array. The results showed that ROS level and mitochondrial membrane potential were significantly lower in embryos cultured in the EGCG group than in the M16 group (p < 0.05), while the adenosine triphosphate content was slightly lower than in the M16 group (p > 0.05). PCR array test results showed that 18 genes were differentially expressed, among which eight genes involving cell growth, cell cycle regulation and mRNA transcription were up-regulated and 10 genes involving apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and DNA repair were down-regulated in the EGCG groups. It is concluded that EGCG could promote the development of 1-cell embryos in vitro possibly due to its ability to scavenge ROS and regulate mitochondrial activity. In addition, EGCG could influence expression of genes related to p53 signalling pathway in 2-cell embryos and promote cell cycle progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
authors.forename: Weiyu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Yanqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yufei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Chenfeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Shie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D002392:Catechin; C045651:epigallocatechin gallate