Development. Survival is impossible without an editor

RNA editing is a fascinating phenomenon that is found in both animal and plant cells. By converting an adenosine base to an inosine (which behaves like guanosine) in RNA that has already been transcribed, certain RNA sequences (and hence the amino acids they encode) are altered. In a Perspective, Keegan, Gallo and O'Connell explore new results showing that activity of the editing enzyme ADAR1 is crucial for normal development of red blood cells in mouse embryos.     

Inositol hexakisphosphate is bound in the ADAR2 core and required for RNA editing

We report the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of human ADAR2, an RNA editing enzyme, at 1.7 angstrom resolution. The structure reveals a zinc ion in the active site and suggests how the substrate adenosine is recognized. Unexpectedly, inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) is buried within the enzyme core, contributing to the protein fold. Although there are no reports that adenosine deaminases that act on RNA (ADARs) require a cofactor, we show that IP6 is required for activity. Amino acids that coordinate IP6 in the crystal structure are conserved in some adenosine deaminases that act on transfer RNA (tRNA) (ADATs), related enzymes that edit tRNA. Indeed, IP6 is also essential for in vivo and in vitro deamination of adenosine 37 of tRNAala by ADAT1.     

拟胚体对成体细胞参与胚胎嵌合的影响

试验尝试构建成体细胞同小鼠早期胚胎的嵌合共生胚胎.取成年人皮肤组织的成纤维细胞,慢病毒转染皮肤成纤维细胞标记EGFP荧光蛋白,同小鼠早期8-细胞胚胎进行嵌合.结果显示慢病毒高效标记人皮肤成纤维细胞表达EGFP荧光蛋白,通过皮肤成纤维细胞与小鼠胚胎干细胞形成的拟胚体环境作用后,皮肤成纤维细胞成功与小鼠胚胎形成嵌合胚,嵌合囊胚形成率为38.08%,表达EGFP荧光蛋白的皮肤成纤维细胞能够嵌合到小鼠胚胎的不同部位.嵌合胚在胚胎干细胞分离培养环境下进行培养,嵌合到小鼠内细胞团的皮肤成纤维细胞参与小鼠内细胞团的组成,参与小鼠内细胞团组成的胚胎占嵌合胚比率为1.74%.小鼠胚胎干细胞拟胚体环境作用可以成功介导人皮肤成纤维细胞同小鼠早期胚胎形成嵌合共生体系.     

Rescue of cardiac defects in id knockout embryos by injection of embryonic stem cells

We report that Id knockout mouse embryos display multiple cardiac defects, but mid-gestation lethality is rescued by the injection of 15 wild-type embryonic stem (ES) cells into mutant blastocysts. Myocardial markers altered in Id mutant cells are restored to normal throughout the chimeric myocardium. Intraperitoneal injection of ES cells into female mice before conception also partially rescues the cardiac phenotype with no incorporation of ES cells. Insulin-like growth factor 1, a long-range secreted factor, in combination with WNT5a, a locally secreted factor, likely account for complete reversion of the cardiac phenotype. Thus, ES cells have the potential to reverse congenital defects through Id-dependent local and long-range effects in a mammalian embryo.     

Ribosomal RNA synthesis and the multiple, atypical nucleoli in cleaving embryos

The rate of ribosomal RNA synthesis per nucleus in cleaving sea urchin embryos is similar to the rate at later embryonic stages. The multiple, atypical nucleoli, present in early embryos and usually attributed to decreased ribosomal RNA synthesis, are beginning stages of nucleolar formation. Full nucleolar development requires more time than the brief interphase of the rapidly dividing cells.     

Delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase: induction in embryonic chick liver by glucagon

Glucagon elicits a twofold increase in delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase activity in the livers of 18-day-old chick embryos. This rise occurs when RNA synthesis is inhibited, but is prevented when protein synthesis is blocked. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate appears not to be involved.     

斑马鱼中snrpc基因的发育时序表达分析

为了深入研究鱼类snrpc基因的作用机制,通过分析斑马鱼snrpc的发育时序表达,来探讨snrpc基因在斑马鱼中的功能机理。从斑马鱼的胚胎中提取RNA,进行反转录、PCR、克隆等,得到snrpc基因在胚胎发育不同时期的表达水平。结果表明,在斑马鱼胚胎发育初期,snrpc表达量较高,随着胚胎的不断发育,snrpc的m RNA表达量有所下降,到后期表达量又上升。因此,snrpc表达量的变化可能预示着snrpc发挥功能的关键时期,对snrpc的克隆和表达分析,为后续进一步研究其相关功能奠定了基础。     

A continuous cell-free translation system capable of producing polypeptides in high yield

A cell-free translation system has been constructed that uses a continuous flow of the feeding buffer [including amino acids, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and guanosine triphosphate (GTP)] through the reaction mixture and a continuous removal of a polypeptide product. Both prokaryotic (Escherichia coli) and eukaryotic (wheat embryos, Triticum sp.) versions of the system have been tested. In both cases the system has proven active for long times, synthesizing polypeptides at a high constant rate for tens of hours. With the use of MS2 phage RNA or brome mosaic virus RNA 4 as templates, 100 copies of viral coat proteins per RNA were synthesized for 20 hours in the prokaryotic or eukaryotic system, respectively. With synthetic calcitonin messenger RNA, 150 to 300 copies of calcitonin polypeptide were produced per messenger RNA in both types of continuous translation systems for 40 hours.     

ACTINOMYCIN D: SPECIFIC INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON THE EXPLANTED CHICK EMBRYO

Chick embryos containing 11 to 13 somites were cultured for 48 hours on media containing various amounts of the antibiotic actinomycin D. Morphological observations as well as quantitative determinations of protein nitrogen, DNA, and RNA indicate that the antibiotic specifically inhibits the growth and development of the embryonic axis posterior to the 12th somite.     

Tolerance induced by thymic epithelial grafts in birds

Grafts of the anterior limb bud introduced at embryonic day 4 between histoincompatible chick embryos were subject to chronic, mild rejection beginning from several weeks to several months after birth. In contrast, quail wing buds similarly grafted into chickens started to be rejected at the first or second week after birth and finally autoamputated. Embryonic thymus epithelium from donor quail (before it had been colonized by hemopoietic cells) was grafted into chicks. A chimeric thymic epithelial stroma was generated in which the lymphocytes of the chick acquired the capacity to recognize the grafted limb as self either permanently or for a protracted period of time. In such thymic chimeras the grafted wings were not rejected.     

小鼠早期胚胎细胞膜电位的测定及胚胎早期分化诱因的探讨

目的:调查早期胚胎细胞分化的诱因。方法:使用Patch clamp7型膜电位测定仪,测定ICR小鼠4、8、16、32细胞期胚胎的细胞膜电位。结果:①细胞位置无差异时,胚胎细胞的膜电位差异不显著;②早期胚胎的细胞膜电位存在个体差异;③早期胚胎的细胞在不同发育阶段具有不同的膜电位,且其膜电位值显著下降;④同—胚胎的周边细胞与内部细胞之间,细胞膜电位存在显著性差异。结论:早期胚胎分化的诱因是不同位置的细胞受到"胚胎场"的影响不同,"胚胎场"是指构成胚胎的细胞,因其具有的膜电位因素在相互之间形成的影响力。     

基于RNA-Seq技术的牦牛体外受精胚胎发育转录组分析

【目的】探明不同发育阶段牦牛体外受精（IVF）胚胎的转录组差异,了解差异表达基因（DEG）在功能、分类和代谢通路的差异,为揭示牦牛早期胚胎发育调控机制,促进牦牛胚胎体外生产技术的发展提供理论基础。【方法】以IVF技术生产的牦牛2-细胞、4-细胞、8-细胞、桑椹胚和囊胚5个发育阶段的胚胎为样本分别提取总RNA,采用Smart-Seq2扩增技术构建5个测序文库,应用HiSeq^TM 2500高通量测序技术进行转录组测序,对获得的有效序列进行功能注释及相关生物信息学分析。【结果】牦牛IVF后的卵裂率和囊胚率分别为69.3%和26.2%。2-细胞、4-细胞、8-细胞、桑椹胚和囊胚5个发育阶段的牦牛胚胎Clean reads为47 355 570-50 855 888条,其中有85.65%-90.02%的reads能比对到牦牛参考基因组序列上;8-细胞的胚胎比对上的转录本最多（14 893）,而囊胚比对上的转录本最少（9 827）。牦牛胚胎转录本主要有5种可变剪接类型,转录起始区域可变剪接（TSS）和转录结束区域可变剪接（TTS）所占比例最大;牦牛2-细胞、4-细胞、8-细胞、桑椹胚和囊胚基因组分别有116 601、234 131、196 420、70 841和94 840个位点存在单核苷酸多态性（SNP）。在4-细胞、8-细胞、桑椹胚、囊胚期开始表达的基因分别有1 221、1 116、142和564个;随着胚胎发育的进行,BMP15、KIT、GDF9、STAT3、ZP3和ZP4等母源基因的表达量逐渐减少,而SARS、IL18、ACO2、TXN2、ATP5B、PCGF4、UBE3A、MAPK13、SNURF和JUP等胚胎基因的表达量则逐渐增加。以|log₂ratio| ≥1且Q-value ＜ 0.05为筛选标准,在2-细胞和4-细胞胚胎、4-细胞和8-细胞胚胎、8-细胞胚胎和桑椹胚以及桑椹胚和囊胚比对中分别筛选到6 922、7 601、8 071和10 555个DEGs。GO分析表明,4个发育阶段的DEGs归类注释都涉及生物过程（BP）、细胞组分（CC）和分子功能（MF）3大类62个二级条目。通过KEGG pathway数据库分析,2-细胞和4-细胞期胚胎的DEGs参与到308条通路中,显著富集剪接体、RNA转运和泛素介导的蛋白水解等11条通路;4-细胞和8-细胞胚胎的DEGs参与到310条通路,显著富集嗅觉转导、神经活性配体-受体互作和核苷酸切除修复等9条通路;8-细胞期胚胎和桑椹胚的DEGs参与到316条通路,显著富集嗅觉转导、泛素介导的蛋白水解和神经活性配体-受体互作等10条通路;桑椹胚和囊胚的DEGs参与到315条通路,显著富集剪接体和RNA转运2条通路。【结论】利用高通量测序技术对牦牛IVF胚胎不同发育阶段的转录组进行测序和分析,揭示了牦牛胚胎发育不同阶段差异表达基因的数量,获得了差异表达基因的功能、分类和代谢通路。为丰富牦牛胚胎转录组信息,揭示牦牛胚胎发育分子调控机制及完善其胚胎体外培养技术研究奠定基础。     

山羊类胚胎干细胞的分离、克隆研究

从胚胎发育阶段、饲养层、生长因子等方面对影响山羊胚胎干细胞的分离、克隆的因素进行了研究。结果表明：囊胚期可作为分离山羊胚胎干细胞收集胚胎适宜阶段；小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞(MEF)和山羊胚胎成纤维细胞(GEF)对山羊类ES细胞分离效果影响不明显；生长因子LIF和SCF配合使用可分离到山羊的类ES细胞，并传至第4代。     

Effects of Ooplasmic Transfer on Rabbit Oocyte Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development

In order to evaluate the effects of ooplasm on oocyte fertilization and early embryonic development and to study the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heterogeneity of early embryos, microinjection was first performed to transfer a small amount (5 to 7%) of donor ooplasm into recipient oocytes, then the eggs were fertilized with rabbit sperm through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In group 1 (homogeneous ooplasmic transfer), both the donor and recipient rabbit oocytes were at metaphase Ⅱ (MⅡ). In group 2 (heterogeneous ooplasmic transfer), the donor was mouse MⅡ oocyte and the recipient was rabbit MⅡ oocyte. In the control group, only ICS! was done on rabbit oocyte without ooplasmic transfer.No significant difference (P＞0.05) was observed in blastocyst development rates between group 1 (13.0%, 3/23) and the control group (16.7%, 4/24), but significant difference (P＜0.05) was examined in blastocyst development rate between group 2 (0, 0/27) and the control group. Blastomeres cleaved unequally and embryonic fragments increased after ooplasmic transfer and ICSI. In early embryos, in group 2, donor mouse mtDNA was detected in 2-cell embryos (3/3), 4-cell embryos(3/4), 8-cell embryos (4/4), and morulae (2/2). The mtDNA fingerprinting analysis showed that mouse mtDNA detected in heterogeneous embryos of different developmental stages had exactly the same sequence as that of the donor mouse mtDNA, thus indicating that homogenous ooplasmic transfer had no significant influence on rabbit oocyte fertilization and early embryonic development, and that heterogeneous ooplasmic transfer did cause notable reduction in blastocyst development rate. Heterogeneous mtDNA sequence in early embryos did not mutate. Compared with the control group,the embryonic quality declined after ooplasmic transfer operation in the present experiment.     

猪胚胎体外培养体系优化对胚胎干细胞建系的影响

为提高体外胚胎发育质量和体外胚胎建立胚胎干细胞系效率,研究以N2B27为基础的干细胞培养体系对猪孤雌胚胎体外发育和后续建立胚胎干细胞系的影响。设立3个试验组:PZM-3组,孤雌激活的胚胎全程PZM-3培养体系中培养; N2B27组,孤雌激活的胚胎全程N2B27培养体系中培养; PZM-3-N2B27组,孤雌胚胎在PZM-3培养体系中培养至桑葚胚后更换为N2B27培养体系。结果表明,N2B27组无法获得囊胚,但PZM-3-N2B27组胚胎可正常发育至囊胚,囊胚率未显著提高,但囊胚细胞总数显著提高(P<0.05)。PZM-3-N2B27组获得孤雌囊胚用于建立猪胚胎干细胞系,显著提高原代克隆形成率(P<0.05),获得猪胚胎干细胞系呈碱性磷酸酶阳性,表达Oct4、Sox2和Nanog等多能性基因。结果表明,采用PZM-3和N2B27培养体系结合获得的猪孤雌囊胚利于猪胚胎干细胞系建立。研究为进一步优化猪胚胎体外培养体系,获得初始态胚胎干细胞系提供参考。