Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 5, No. 9, 861-865,
September 1999
© 1999 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Regulation of embryo development |
Expression of the insulin-like growth factor-1 gene and its receptor in preimplantation mouse embryos; is it a marker of embryo viability?
The Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY 10021, USA
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of insulin-like growth factors (IGF) in mouse preimplantation development. We examined IGF-1 and IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) gene expression in a single blastomere of an early mouse embryo and compared it with subsequent embryo development in culture. Fertilized eggs and 2-cell embryos were obtained by tubal flushing in superovulated and mated female mice. Single cells were removed from embryos at cleavage stage between 3 and 8 cells using the standard embryo biopsy techniques. Individual blastomeres from each embryo were then assayed for the presence of IGF-1 and IGF-1R mRNA using reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. The biopsied embryos were washed in medium and placed in co-culture with murine endometrial cells. Embryonic development in culture was assessed and blastocyst grading was performed. IGF-1 gene expression was then examined for an association with in-vitro development. Eighty-seven embryos were biopsied. IGF-1R gene expression was detected in the majority of embryos tested and IGF-1 gene expression was detected in 34 of 81 (42%) embryos. A significant association between IGF-1 expression and blastocyst formation in vitro was found (P < 0.01). There was no association between IGF-1R expression and subsequent embryo development. We conclude that IGF-1 gene expression could potentially be used as a marker of embryo quality.
embryo biopsy/growth factors/IGF-I/RT–PCR
Notes
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7570 MacNider, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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