At the blastocyst stage of mammalian pre-implantation development, three distinct cell lineages have formed: trophectoderm, hypoblast (primitive endoderm) and epiblast. The inability to derive embryonic stem (ES) cell lines in a variety of species suggests divergence between species in the cell signaling pathways involved in early lineage specification. In mouse, segregation of the primitive endoderm lineage from the pluripotent epiblast lineage depends on FGF/MAP kinase signaling, but it is unknown whether this is conserved between species. Here we examined segregation of the hypoblast and epiblast lineages in bovine and human embryos through modulation of FGF/MAP kinase signaling pathways in cultured embryos. Bovine embryos stimulated with FGF4 and heparin form inner cell masses (ICMs) composed entirely of hypoblast cells and no epiblast cells. Inhibition of MEK in bovine embryos results in ICMs with increased epiblast precursors and decreased hypoblast precursors. The hypoblast precursor population was not fully ablated upon MEK inhibition, indicating that other factors are involved in hypoblast differentiation. Surprisingly, inhibition of FGF signaling upstream of MEK had no effects on epiblast and hypoblast precursor numbers in bovine development, suggesting that GATA6 expression is not dependent on FGF signaling. By contrast, in human embryos, inhibition of MEK did not significantly alter epiblast or hypoblast precursor numbers despite the ability of the MEK inhibitor to potently inhibit ERK phosphorylation in human ES cells. These findings demonstrate intrinsic differences in early mammalian development in the role of the FGF/MAP kinase signaling pathways in governing hypoblast versus epiblast lineage choices.

Two lineage segregation events in mammalian development form the trophectoderm, primitive endoderm, and pluripotent primitive ectoderm. In mouse embryos, Oct4, Cdx2, Nanog, and Gata6 govern these events, but it is unknown whether this is conserved between mammals. Here, the expression patterns of these genes and their products were determined in porcine oocytes and embryos and in bovine embryos. CDX2 and GATA6 expression in porcine and bovine blastocysts resembled that of mouse, indicating conserved functions. However, NANOG expression was undetectable in porcine oocytes and embryos. Some inner cell mass cells in bovine blastocysts expressed NANOG protein. OCT4 protein was undetectable in porcine morulae, but present in both the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass of blastocysts, suggesting that downregulation of OCT4 in the trophectoderm does not precede trophectoderm formation. Combined, the results indicate differences in lineage segregation between mammals. Developmental Dynamics 237:918–927, 2008.

Women presenting fertility problems are often helped by Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs. However, in many cases the etiology of the in/subfertility remains unknown even after treatment. Although several aspects should be considered when assisting a woman with problems to conceive, a survey on the patients’ exposure to contaminants would help to understand the cause of the fertility problem, as well as to follow the patient properly during IVF. Daily exposure to toxic compounds, mainly environmental and dietary ones, may result in reproductive impairment. For instance, because affects oocyte developmental competence. Many of these compounds, natural or synthetic, are endocrine disruptors or endocrine active substances that may impair reproduction. To understand the risks and the mechanism of action of such chemicals in human cells, the use of proper in vitro models is essential. The present review proposes the bovine and porcine models to evaluate toxic compounds on oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryo production in vitro. Moreover, we discuss here the species-specific differences when mice, bovine and porcine are used as models for human.

Sperm cells with damaged DNA cause mitotic errors in the fertilized embryo, leading to a diverse spectrum of genomic abnormalities.

Cumulus cells are essential for nutrition of oocytes during maturation. In the absence of cumulus cells during maturation, oocyte developmental competence is severely compromised. In this study, we matured bovine cumulus-oocyte-complexes (COCs) for 8 h, the cumulus cells were removed and denuded oocytes were further matured for 15 h in either the medium conditioned by the initial 8 h culture, or in fresh unconditioned medium. Denuded oocytes that completed maturation in COC-conditioned medium demonstrated better developmental potential than denuded oocytes that completed maturation in standard maturation medium. An inventory was made of the metabolites secreted by COCs into the maturation medium during the first 8 h, from 8 to 23 h, and during an entire 23 h maturation protocol; the metabolomic changes in the cumulus cells during maturation were also investigated. In maturation medium, 173 biochemical components were detected compared to 369 different metabolites in cumulus cells. Significant changes in metabolomic components were evident in maturation medium and in cumulus cells during maturation, with most of the changes related to amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism. The importance of two detected biochemicals, creatine and carnitine, for oocyte maturation was further investigated. The presence of carnitine, but not creatine during oocyte in vitro maturation improved the developmental competence of denuded oocytes.