Effects of the HDAC inhibitor scriptaid on the in  vitro development of bovine embryos and on imprinting gene expression levels

This study examines the effects of the histone deacetylation inhibitor scriptaid (SCR) on preimplantation embryo development in  vitro and on imprinting gene expression. We hypothesized that SCR would increase histone acetylation levels, enhance embryonic genome activation, and regulate imprinting and X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) in in vitro produced bovine embryos. Zygotes were cultured in vitro in presence or absence of SCR added at different time points. We assessed cleavage and blastocyst rates as well as the quality of blastocysts through: (i) differential cell counts; (ii) survival after vitrification/thawing and (iii) gene expression analysis –including imprinted genes.

Source: Theriogenology - January 11, 2018 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: R. Laguna-Barraza, M.J. S ánchez-Calabuig, A. Gutiérrez-Adán, D. Rizos, S. Pérez-Cerezales Source Type: research