Embryology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Embryology, including details on stem cells, reproduction, transplants, cloning.

Gene expression profiling of the pre-implantation mouse embryo by microarray analysis: Comparison of the two-cell stage and two-cell block.

Jeong HJ, Kim HJ, Lee SH, Kwack K, Ahn SY, Choi YJ, Kim HG, Lee KW, Lee CN, Cha KY

Genome Research Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility of Korea, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Seoul 135-081, Republic of Korea; CHA Research Institute, CHA General Hospital, Pochon CHA University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

To improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying early embryo development, further characterization of gene activity in oocytes and embryos is urgently required. The transition from the two-cell to four-cell stage is particularly important in pre-implantation embryonic development, as it involves transcriptional reprogramming and cellular differentiation. In this study, we used a 7.4K cDNA microarray to screen mRNA transcript levels in the pre-implantation mouse embryo. Real-time PCR was used to confirm microarray data. We profiled 7410 genes and identified 4562 genes that were differentially expressed in the pre-implantation embryo. We selected a total of 248 genes with significant expression changes that are functionally involved in the two-cell and two-cell block embryo. Of these genes, 114 were down-regulated and the remainder (n=134) were up-regulated in the two-cell embryo. This study provides a developmental map of a large number of genes in the pre-implantation mouse embryo with particular emphasis on gene expression in the two-cell embryo and two-cell block embryo. Further investigations based on this data will provide a better understanding of the effects of various external conditions and may facilitate comparative analysis of pre-implantation development in other mammalian species, including human.

Published 14 August 2006 in Theriogenology, 66(4): 785-96.
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