Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 6, No. 11, 999-1004,
November 2000
© 2000 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Embryo development |
Oct-4 expression in inner cell mass and trophectoderm of human blastocysts
Program for In vitro Fertilization, Reproductive Surgery and Infertility, New York University Medical Center, 660 First Ave, 5th floor, New York, NY 10016, USA
Abstract
The expression of the transcription factor Oct-4 is thought to be one of the decisive factors that maintain totipotency in embryonic and germ cells. In mice, oct-4 is exclusively expressed in germ cells and totipotent cells of the embryo. In humans, Oct-4 is expressed in germ cells, embryonic stem cells and whole embryos at various stages of development. However, there is limited information about the distribution of Oct-4 expression in human embryos. In an attempt to address this issue, the inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) of 17 human blastocysts were separated and Oct-4 mRNA expression individually assessed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR). In discarded blastocysts that developed from two pronuclear zygotes, the mean Oct-4 expression was 31 times higher in totipotent ICM cells than in differentiated TE cells. This finding suggests that, in accordance with data from the mouse, Oct-4 is highly expressed in human ICM cells as opposed to TE cells; this in turn supports the hypothesis that Oct-4 plays a similar role to maintain totipotency in these two species.
blastocyst/embryogenesis/inner cell mass/Oct-4/totipotency
Notes
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Program for In Vitro Fertilization, Reproductive Surgery and Infertility, New York University Medical Center, 660 First Ave, 5th floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. ChrHansis{at}aol.com
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