title: Improving the development of early bovine somatic-cell nuclear transfer embryos by treating adult donor cells with vitamin C.
abstract: Vitamin C (Vc) has been widely studied in cell and embryo culture, and has recently been demonstrated to promote cellular reprogramming. The objective of this study was to identify a suitable Vc concentration that, when used to treat adult bovine fibroblasts serving as donor cells for nuclear transfer, improved donor-cell physiology and the developmental potential of the cloned embryos that the donor nuclei were used to create. A Vc concentration of 0.15 mM promoted cell proliferation and increased donor-cell 5-hydroxy methyl cytosine levels 2.73-fold (P < 0.05). The blastocyst rate was also significantly improved after nuclear transfer (39.6% treated vs. 26.0% control, P < 0.05); the average number of apoptotic cells in cloned blastocysts was significantly reduced (2.2 vs. 4.4, P < 0.05); and the inner cell mass-to-trophectoderm ratio (38.25% vs. 30.75%, P < 0.05) and expression of SOX2 (3.71-fold, P < 0.05) and POU5F1 (3.15-fold, P < 0.05) were significantly increased. These results suggested that Vc promotes cell proliferation, decreases DNA methylation levels in donor cells, and improves the developmental competence of bovine somatic-cell nuclear transfer embryos.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Huanhuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Zekun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Rongjun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Yumin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Fusheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle; D019976:Cloning, Organism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005260:Female; D053652:Nuclear Transfer Techniques
chemical_list: D001205:Ascorbic Acid