The embryonic genome activation (EGA) is genetically activated states that embryos make the materials such as growth factors for using themselves. EGA is various because they have many materials, different site, different stage, also different species. At this time, transcription factors are expressed. Transcription factors bind to specific DNA region, and regulate the gene expression. Thus, we check the expression of transcription factors, we can know that embryo development is very well or not. The development stages of embryos are basically the stages from fertilization to blastocyst. So, we check the embryos oocyte to blastocyst. In our experiments, we focus the early developmental transcription factors such as Cdx2, Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and E-Cadherin. Above antibody factors showed different expression sites, and there were many differentiated parts from other animal species. In addition, we compared the SCNT and parthenogenetic activation (PA) because these are same methods using electrical activation among the embryo production methods. Our results showed not only similar patterns but also different patterns between pig and mouse. Therefore, we have to investigate that different patterns of transcription factors play a role in pigs, and why occur.

The cloning efficiency is extremely low despite successful somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) method producing cloned animals in several mammals. In general, faulty epigenetic modifications underlying the incomplete reprogramming of donor cell nuclei after SCNT mainly results in low cloning efficiency. The nuclear reprogramming process involves epigenetic modifications, such as DNA demethylation and histone acetylation, which may be an important factor in enhancing the cloning efficiency. Recently, the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), such as trichosatin A (TSA) and m-carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide (CBHA), to increase histone acetylation have been used to improve the developmental competence of SCNT embryos. Therefore, we compared the effects of TSA with CBHA on the in vitro developmental competence and pluripotency-related gene expression (Oct4, Nanog and Sox2) in porcine cloned blastocysts and histone acetylation pattern (H3K9ac). The porcine cloned embryos were treated with a 50nM concentration of TSA and 100μM concentration of CBHA during the in vitro early culture (10h) after cell fusion and then were assessed to cleavage rate, development to the blastocyst stage and pluripotency-related gene expression in NT blastocyst also, level of histone acetylation in zygote, 2cell, 4cell stage. As results, Although NT, TSA and CBHA treated NT embryos were not different between all groups for cleavage rates, the developmental competence to the blastocyst stage was significantly increased in CBHA treated embryos (22.7%) compared to that of normal NT and TSA treated NT embryos (8.1% and 15.4%)(p<0.05). In addition, all of pluripotent transcription factors (Oct4, Nanog and Sox2) were expressed in the CBHA treated NT embryos, however, Sox2 and Oct4 were expressed in TSA treated NT embryos and expression pattern of CBHA treated NT embryos is particularly similar to that of IVF embryos. Also, CBHA treated NT embryos were increased in level of histone acetylation (H3K9ac) at the zygote, 2-cell, 4-cell stage compared to those of NT and TSA treated NT embryos. In conclusion, the treatment of CBHA as a histone deacetylase inhibitor significantly increased the developmental competence of porcine NT embryos and pluripotency-related gene expressions(Oct4, Nanog and Sox2) in NT blastocysts and level of histone acetylation (H3K9ac).

Differentiated nuclei can experimentally be returned to an undifferentiated embryonic status after nuclear transfer (NT) to unfertilized metaphase II (MII) oocytes. Nuclear reprogramming is triggered immediately after somatic cell nucleus transfer (SCNT) into recipient cytoplasm and this period is regarded as a key stage for optimizing reprogramming. In a recent study (Dai et al., 2010), use of m-carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide (CBHA) as a histone deacetylase inhibitor during the in vitro early culture of murine cloned embryos modifies the acetylation status of somatic nuclei and increases the developmental competence of SCNT embryos. Thus, we examined the effects of CBHA treatment on the in vitro preimplantation development of porcine SCNT embryos and on the acetylated status of histone H3K9 on cloned embryos at the zygote stage. We performed the three groups SCNT: SCNT (NT), CBHA treatment at the porcine fetus fibroblast cells (PFFs) used as donor cells prior to SCNT (CBHA-C) and CBHA treatment at the porcine SCNT embryos during the in vitro early culture after oocyte activation (CBHA-Z). The PFFs were treated with a 15 μM of CBHA (8 h) for the early culture and the porcine cloned embryos were treated with a 100 μM concentration of CBHA during the in vitro early culture (10 h). Cleavage rates and development to the blastocyst stage were assessed. No significant difference was observed the cleavage rate among the groups (82.6%, 76.4% and 82.2%, respectively). However, the development competence to the blastocyst stage was significantly increased in CBHA-Z embryos (22.7%) as compared to SCNT and CBHA-C embryos (8.6% and 4.1%)(p<0.05). Total cell numbers and viable cell numbers at the blastocyst stage of porcine SCNT embryos were increased in CBHA-Z embryos as compared to those in CBHA-C embryos (p<0.05). Signal level of histone acetylation (H3K9ac) at the zygote stage of SCNT was increased in CBHA-Z embryos as compared to SCNT and CBHA-C embryos. The results of the present study suggested that treatment with CBHA during the in vitro early culture (10 h) had significantly increased the developmental competence and histone acetylation level at the zygote stage.

Pig embryonic stem cells (ESC) has been suggested to become important animal model for therapeutic cloning using embryonic stem cells derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). However, the quality of cloned embryo and derivation rate of cloned blastocyst has been presented limits for derivation of cloned embryonic stem cell. In this study, we have tried to overcome these problems by aggregating porcine embryos. Zonafree reconstructed SCNT Embryos were cultured in micro-wells singularly (non-aggregated group) or as aggregates of three (aggregated groups) at the four cell stage. Embryo quality of the cloned embryos and attachment on feeder layer rate significantly increased in the aggregates. The aggregation of pig SCNT embryos at the four-cell stage can be a useful technique for improving the quality of pig cloned blastocyst and improvement in the percentage of attachment on the feeder layer of cloned embryos. * This work was supported by the BioGreen 21 Program (PJ0081382011), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

복제동물 생산을 위한 체세포 핵이식 성공률은 공여세포 준비를 포함하여 많은 요소들에 의한 변수가 크다. 체세포 핵이식의 공여세포로 사용되는 세포는 G0/G1기로 세포주기를 맞 춘 confluence한 신선 배양세포를 일반적으로 이용하고 있다. 그러나 본 연구에서는 돼지 체세포 복제수정란 생산시 동결융해세포의 이용가능성을 확인하고자 일반세포와 형질전환 세포에서 신선한 배양세포와 동결융해세포를 이용한 복제수정란의 체외발달능력 및 배반 포 의 세포자연사를 비교하였다. 공여세포는 유전자가 삽입되지 않은 일반 미니돼지 귀세포와 상기세포에 GalT 유전자가 적중된 형질전환세포를 이용하였다. 배양세포는 confluence상태에서, 동결융해세포는 confluence 상태에서 동결된 세포를 융해하여 핵이식에 사용하였다. 수핵란과 공여세포가 융합 된 복제수정란은 PZM-3 배양액에서 38.5℃, 5% CO2, 5% O2 조건하에서 6일간 배양하여 배반포 발달율을 조사하였으며, 배반포의 세포자연사는 TUNEL법을 이용하여 분석하였다. 일반세포의 경우, 융합율(83.3 vs 79.1%), 배반포 발달율(18.0 vs 15.0%), 배반포 세포수 (38.4±12.8 vs 42.0±12.4) 그리고 배반포의 세포자연사 비율(2.1±2.7 vs 1.9±3.7%)은 배 양 세포와 동결융해세포 간에 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 형질전환세포의 경우, 융합율 (87.0 vs 82.4%), 배반포 발달율(24.6 vs 17.3%) 그리고 배반포 세포수(35.3±11.9 vs 37.7± 15.4)는 두 세포군 간에 통계적 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났지만, 배반포의 세포자연사 비율 (6.0±4.8 vs 10.6±9.4%)은 배양세포가 동결융해세포보다 유의하게 낮은 것으로 나타났다 (p<0.05). 본 연구 결과는 배양된 신선 체세포를 대체하여 confluence 상태에서 동결보존된 돼지 체 세포는 융해 직후 공여세포로서 돼지 복제수정란 생산에 유용하게 활용될 수 있음을 제시 하고 있다.

This study investigates the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and subsequent apoptosis in duced during somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) process of porcine SCNT embryos. Porcine SCNT and in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos were sampled at 3 h and 20 h after SCNT or IVF and at the blastocyst stage for mRNA extraction. The x-box binding protein 1 (Xbp1) mRNA and the expressions of ER stress-associated genes were confirmed by RT-PCR or RT-qPCR. Apoptotic gene expression was analyzed by RT-PCR. Before commencing SCNT, somatic cells treated with tunicamycin (TM), an ER stress inducer, confirmed the splicing of Xbp1 mRNA and increased expressions of ER stress-associated genes. In all the embryonic stages, the SCNT embryos, when compared with the IVF embryos, showed slightly increased expression of spliced Xbp1 (Xbp1s) mRNA and significantly increased expression of ER stress-associated genes (p<0.05). In all stages, apoptotic gene expression was slightly higher in the SCNT embryos, but not significantly different from that of the IVF embryos except for the Bax/Bcl2L1 ratio in the 1-cell stage (p<0.05). The result of this study indicates that excessive ER stress can be induced by the SCNT process, which induce apoptosis of SCNT embryos.