动物克隆核再程序化有关机理的研究进展

近年来,动物克隆技术发展迅速,不断有新的克隆动物面世。面对克隆效率、克隆动物存活率低的客观事实,人们对克隆有关机制做了很多探讨。在移植核的再程序化过程中,某些胞浆因子如核质原等在解除已分化细胞核染色质的抑制中发挥了关键的作用,同时移植核发生印记基因及非印记基因的去甲基化和重新甲基化的现象,这种染色质抑制作用的解除及基因的甲基化现象与移植核的去分化有着密切的联系,但其具体机制还不清楚。核移植技术中,供核与受体胞质的协调和核再程序化的关系得到大量研究,目前普遍认为为了使核再程序化进行得更完全,MⅡ期卵母细胞质是适宜的受体,而处于G0期或G1期的体细胞核是合适的核供体。     

DNA甲基化与克隆动物的发育异常

通过核移植技术得到的大多数克隆动物在出生前就已经死亡, 只有极少数可以发育至妊娠期末或者存活至成年, 即使是存活下来的克隆动物也伴有不同程度的发育缺陷和表型异常。DNA甲基化是支配基因正常表达的一种重要的表观遗传修饰方式, 是调节基因组功能的重要手段, 在胚胎的正常发育过程中具有显著作用。通过对DNA甲基化模式的研究, 人们发现克隆动物中存在着异常的DNA甲基化状态, 而这些异常的DNA甲基化模式可能就是导致克隆胚早期死亡以及克隆动物发育畸形的主要原因。文章主要论述了DNA甲基化的作用, 克隆动物中异常的DNA甲基化模式, 以及造成克隆胚胎甲基化异常的原因等问题。     

兔植入前移核胚中发育相关基因的差异表达分析

与早期胚胎发育相关的一些重要基因异常表达致使克隆胚细胞核的再程序化过程受阻,是导致动物克隆失败的重要原因.为了分离鉴定再程序化相关基因,我们改进了mRNA差异显示技术,成功地建立了单胚差示技术体系.以不同发育时期的兔克隆胚（MⅡ卵、2细胞、4细胞、8～16细胞克隆胚胎）为材料进行单胚差示, 分离了80个差异片段.经反向RNA印迹验证、亚克隆、序列分析及NCBI GenBank数据库检索, 结果表明：A028片段与CstF3基因有93％的同源性, 在早期胚胎发育过程中的表达有阶段特异性, 该基因在兔克隆胚的早期发育过程中起重要作用.RNA印迹显示：该基因在所检测的组织中,只在卵巢中有表达.这项研究为再程序化相关基因全长的克隆及功能研究奠定了良好的基础.     

核移植后的细胞核再程序化机制研究进展

目前动物克隆技术体系极待完善,其极低的成功率及克隆动物普遍存在的早衰、早天现象是阻碍研究深入进行的首要问题,其突破的关键在于对核移植后的细胞核再程序化机制的阐明。从移植核在结构上的重塑、移植核与受体卵细胞质所处的细胞周期及其相互作用、重构胚与两性胚在分子水平的变化等多方面研究表明：受体细胞质的环境对于细胞核的再程序化至关重要,处于有丝分裂各时期的细胞作为核供体一旦移植到卵母细胞后,移植核在卵质环境里将出现结构上的重塑和分子的再程序化;移植核与受体卵问细胞周期的相容性、重构胚的染色体倍性的正确与否,可能是决定重构胚发育率高低的重要因素;合子型基因激活是基因表达再程序化的关键事件之一;印记基因对于体细胞克隆动物移植核的再程序化过程可能起着非常独特的作用。     

Mash2基因在体细胞克隆牛肺脏中DNA甲基化状态分析

体细胞核移植(体细胞克隆)技术在动物生产、医药工业、治疗性克隆以及对珍稀濒危动物的拯救有重要意义,然而克隆效率低下以及克隆动物发育异常,严重制约了克隆技术的发展和应用．在体细胞核克隆中,供体核来自高度分化了的体细胞,发生在核移植后几小时内供体核的重编程,决定了克隆胚胎的发育能力．印记基因是由等位基因表观遗传修饰的不对称导致的基因表达具有亲本选择性,而DNA甲基化是调控印记的一个主要方式．印记基因Mash2在胚胎发育和器官形成过程中起着非常重要的作用．为了探求核移植过程中Mash2基因DNA 甲基化的表观重编程是否充分,利用亚硫酸氢盐测序法对出生48 h内死亡的体细胞核移植牛和正常对照牛肺脏中Mash2基因的DNA甲基化状态进行分析．结果显示,尽管位于Mash2基因启动子和第一个外显子处的CpG岛在正常牛和克隆牛中甲基化水平都不高(20.04%,5.55%),但克隆组的甲基化水平仍显著低于正常对照组 (P < 0.05)．甲基化模式正常组中9N3有5种不同的形式,9N4仅1种;而克隆组9C3和9C5也分别是1种．推测Mash2基因的异常DNA甲基化很可能是导致克隆牛肺脏发育异常的一个重要原因．     

DNA甲基化修饰与体细胞核移植的关系

成功的体细胞核移植（somatic cell nuclear transfer,SCNT）有赖于供体细胞的基因组通过重编程恢复到支持胚胎发育的全能性状态。但是,相比起自然受精后发生的重编程来说,要诱导一个已经分化的供体细胞重编程为全能性状态,往往在时间上和程度上都是迟滞的和不完全的。同时,DNA甲基化状况又是影响克隆胚胎发育和基因表达的关键因素之一。因此,深入研究主导DNA甲基化修饰的分子机理,探讨DNA去甲基化在供体细胞重编程过程中扮演的角色,从而进一步提高供体细胞重编程效率,提高克隆胚的发育潜能,这对于体细胞核移植效率的提高具有重要的意义。     

哺乳动物体细胞核移植表观遗传重编程研究进展

体细胞核移植(somatic cell nuclear transfer, SCNT)是唯一能赋予体细胞基因组全能性的生殖工程技术,对动物种质资源保存、畜牧业发展和生物医学研究等具有重大意义。尽管该技术已经取得了许多研究进展,但哺乳动物克隆胚胎的发育效率依然很低,严重限制其在畜牧业和生物医学上的应用。导致克隆胚胎发育效率低的主要原因是体细胞重编程错误或重编程不完全,主要表现为:印记基因Xist表达异常、DNA甲基化异常,组蛋白修饰异常等。本文简要介绍了体细胞核移植技术,系统总结了哺乳动物克隆胚胎发育效率低的主要影响因素,以期为提升体细胞克隆效率相关研究与实践提供理论参考。     

哺乳动物DNA甲基化及其在体细胞诱导重编程中的作用

诱导多能干细胞(Induced pluripotent stem cell, iPS)技术提供了将终末分化的细胞逆转为多潜能干细胞的可能, 在干细胞基础理论研究和再生医学中具有重要意义。然而, 目前体细胞诱导重编程方法效率极低, 常发生不完全的重编程。研究表明, 在不完全重编程的细胞中存在体细胞的表观遗传记忆, 而DNA甲基化作为相对长期和稳定的表观遗传修饰, 是影响重编程效率和iPS细胞分化能力的重要因素之一。哺乳动物DNA甲基化是指胞嘧啶第五位碳原子上的甲基化修饰, 常发生于CpG位点。DNA甲基化能够调节体细胞特异基因和多能性基因的表达, 因此其在哺乳动物基因调控、胚胎发育和细胞重编程过程中发挥着重要作用。此外, 异常DNA甲基化可能导致iPS细胞基因印记的异常和X染色体的失活。文章重点围绕DNA甲基化的机制、分布特点、及其在体细胞诱导重编程中的作用进行了综述。     

表观遗传调控在哺乳动物体细胞核移植上的应用研究进展

体细胞核移植也称为克隆,是指将体细胞经显微操作植入到去核的卵母细胞质中,不通过精子和卵子结合,在体外生产出与供体细胞具有相同遗传物质的胚胎以及动物个体。近年来克隆技术不断发展,但其效率依然有待提高,导致克隆效率低下的重要原因之一便是供体细胞核物质表观遗传重编程不完全。DNA甲基化和组蛋白乙酰化是人们研究最多的两种表观遗传修饰,此外,基因印记、X染色体失活和端粒长度异常修饰状态也受到研究者的关注。因此如何调节和修复植入前克隆胚胎异常的表观遗传学状态对于提高克隆效率有着重要的意义。本综述植入前克隆胚胎存在的异常表观遗传现象,为建立更为高效的体细胞核移植体系提供一定的理论依据。     

小鼠卵细胞质对供体核DNA甲基化和U2afbp-rs基因表达的调控

利用细胞核移植技术将NIH3T3细胞核和孤雌桑椹胚单个卵裂球,分别移植到去核MⅡ期受体卵母细胞中,通过免疫荧光染色后比较体外受精胚、孤雌胚、NIH3T3核移植重组胚和孤雌桑椹胚核移植重组胚附植前各时期胚胎DNA甲基化水平的变化,以探明克隆胚细胞核去分化与DNA甲基化的相互关系.利用Real-timePCR技术检测体外受精胚、孤雌胚和孤雌桑椹胚核移植重组胚附植前各时期胚胎中,印记基因U2afbp-rs基因以及非印记基因eIF-4C基因表达量的变化,以探明小鼠卵细胞质对克隆胚细胞核中印记基因表达的调控.结果表明,克隆胚供体核基因组DNA在核移植后并没有发生主动去甲基化.孤雌桑椹胚核移植后重组胚中U2afbp-rs基因和eIF-4C基因的表达水平要显著低于对照孤雌胚,但其表达量变化规律与对照孤雌胚相同,说明了卵细胞质对供体核印记基因的表达具有一定的调控作用.     

Unfaithful maintenance of methylation imprints due to loss of maternal nuclear Dnmt1 during somatic cell nuclear transfer

The low success rate of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in mammalian cloning is largely due to imprinting problems. However, little is known about the mechanisms of reprogramming imprinted genes during SCNT. Parental origin-specific DNA methylation regulates the monoallelic expression of imprinted genes. In natural fertilization, methylation imprints are established in the parental germline and maintained throughout embryonic development. However, it is unclear whether methylation imprints are protected from global changes of DNA methylation in cloned preimplantation embryos. Here, we demonstrate that cloned porcine preimplantation embryos exhibit demethylation at differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of imprinted genes; in particular, demethylation occurs during the first two cell cycles. By RNAi-mediated knockdown, we found that Dnmt1 is required for the maintenance of methylation imprints in porcine preimplantation embryos. However, no clear signals were detected in the nuclei of oocytes and preimplantation embryos by immunofluorescence. Thus, Dnmt1 is present at very low levels in the nuclei of porcine oocytes and preimplantation embryos and maintains methylation imprints. We further showed that methylation imprints were rescued in nonenucleated metaphase II (MII) oocytes. Our results indicate that loss of Dnmt1 in the maternal nucleus during SCNT significantly contributes to the unfaithful maintenance of methylation imprints in cloned embryos.     

DNA methylation variation in cloned mice

Summary: Mammalian cloning has been accomplished in several mammalian species by nuclear transfer. However, the production rate of cloned animals is quite low, and many cloned offspring die or show abnormal symptoms. A possible cause of the low success rate of cloning and abnormal symptoms in many cloned animals is the incomplete reestablishment of DNA methylation after nuclear transfer. We first analyzed tissue‐specific methylation patterns in the placenta, skin, and kidney of normal B6D2F1 mice. There were seven spots/CpG islands (0.5% of the total CpG islands detected) methylated differently in the three different tissues examined. In the placenta and skin of two cloned fetuses, a total of four CpG islands were aberrantly methylated or unmethylated. Interestingly, three of these four loci corresponded to the tissue‐specific loci in the normal control fetuses. The extent of aberrant methylation of genomic DNA varied between the cloned animals. In cloned animals, aberrant methylation occurred mainly at tissue‐specific methylated loci. Individual cloned animals have different methylation aberrations. In other words, cloned animals are by no means perfect copies of the original animals as far as the methylation status of genomic DNA is concerned. genesis 30:45–50, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

体细胞核移植胚胎核重编程的研究进展

尽管在多种哺乳动物种系中成功制备了体细胞克隆后代,但当前的克隆技术仍有许多亟待解决的问题。体细胞核移植胚胎大多存在许多发育异常,造成了妊娠早期高流产率和出生后高死亡率。有研究认为,克隆胚胎发育障碍的一个重要的原因是供体细胞的遗传重编程不完全。哺乳动物种系中,DNA甲基化是胚胎发育期转录调节的必需步骤,除了单拷贝基因序列外,在基因组很多的区域都可以观测到克隆胚胎的异常甲基化。此外,克隆胚胎的基因印迹也存在异常。     

克隆动物发育过程中基因组的重编程

自克隆羊“多莉”诞生后利用体细胞核移植技术进行克隆动物的研究已取得很大进展,体细胞克隆的牛、猪、山羊、猫、兔等已陆续出生,但克隆动物的成活率一直都比较低,并且产出的动物大部分存在某种程度的缺陷.最新研究表明,克隆动物胚胎基因组的重编程出现偏差和失误,尤其是去甲基化不足可能是核克隆动物出现异常的关键所在.探讨早期克隆胚胎重编程,特别是对DNA的甲基化,以及供体核在受体卵胞质中进行核重组,为研究克隆胚胎发育和解决克隆动物中的两大难题——即基因组的重编程和核质相互作用提供一些线索.     

The analysis of chromatin remodeling and the staining for DNA methylation and histone acetylation do not provide definitive indicators of the developmental ability of inter-species cloned embryos

The restricted supply of oocytes in the domestic dog limits the development of reproductive biotechnologies in this species. Inter-species somatic cell nuclear transfer could be an alternative for cloning animals whose oocytes are difficult to obtain. In this study, the possibility of cloning dog embryos using pig oocytes was investigated by evaluating nuclear remodeling. Chromatin remodeling, assessed by premature chromosome condensation, pseudo-pronuclei formation, DNA methylation and histone acetylation, along with the developmental ability was compared between intra- and inter-species cloned embryos. The incidence of premature chromosome condensation was significantly higher in intra-species cloned embryos relative to inter-species cloned embryos (87.2% vs. 61.7%; P<0.05), but comparable pseudo-pronuclei formation was observed in both (85.3% vs. 75.8%). None of the inter-species cloned embryos developed beyond the 8-cell stage while 18.3% of intra-species cloned embryos developed to the blastocyst stage. The relative level of both DNA methylation and histone acetylation was similar between intra- and inter-species cloned embryos at all times examined. These results suggest that although partial chromatin remodeling occurs, further investigation is needed to be able to use pig oocytes as recipient oocytes in dog cloning.     

Nuclear transfer: Progress and quandaries

Cloning mammals by nuclear transfer is a powerful technique that is quickly advancing the development of genetically defined animal models. However, the overall efficiency of nuclear transfer is still very low and several hurdles remain before the power of this technique will be fully harnessed. Among these hurdles include an incomplete understanding of biologic processes that control epigenetic reprogramming of the donor genome following nuclear transfer. Incomplete epigenetic reprogramming is considered the major cause of the developmental failure of cloned embryos and is frequently associated with the disregulation of specific genes. At present, little is known about the developmental mechanism of reconstructed embryos. Therefore, screening strategies to design nuclear transfer protocols that will mimic the epigenetic remodeling occurring in normal embryos and identifying molecular parameters that can assess the developmental potential of pre-implantation embryos are becoming increasingly important. A crucial need at present is to understand the molecular events required for efficient reprogramming of donor genomes after nuclear transfer. This knowledge will help to identify the molecular basis of developmental defects seen in cloned embryos and provide methods for circumventing such problems associated with cloning the future application of this technology.     

家畜体细胞克隆中核重编程机理研究进展

体细胞克隆在绵羊、山羊、牛、猪等家畜中获得了成功,但目前的克隆效率非常低。克隆效率低使家畜体细胞克隆技术在畜牧业生产及其他领域的应用受到极大的限制,问题的根源在于对体细胞克隆中核重编程的分子机理缺乏了解。供体细胞核移入去核的卵母细胞后,必须经过后成表观遗传修饰的重编程,从而恢复供体细胞核的全能性,才能保证重构胚的正常发育及个体的正常生长。本文从移植核的重构、DNA甲基化总体改变、组蛋白修饰、X染色体失活、端粒长度和端粒酶活性恢复、印迹基因及其他与发育相关基因的表达及核重编程的影响因素等几个方面探讨了体细胞克隆中的核重编程机理,为克隆效率提高的方法研究提供理论依据。     

Loss of methylation at H19 DMD is associated with biallelic expression and reduced development in cattle derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer

Although cloning of mammals has been achieved successfully, the percentage of live offspring is very low because of reduced fetal size and fewer implantation sites. Recent studies have attributed such pathological conditions to abnormal reprogramming of the donor cell used for cloning. The inability of the oocyte to fully restore the differentiated status of a somatic cell to its pluripotent and undifferentiated state is normally evidenced by aberrant DNA methylation patterns established throughout the genome during development to blastocyst. These aberrant methylation patterns are associated with abnormal expression of imprinted genes, which among other genes are essential for normal embryo development and gestation. We hypothesized that embryo loss and low implantation rates in cattle derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) are caused by abnormal epigenetic reprogramming of imprinted genes. To verify our hypothesis, we analyzed the parental expression and the differentially methylated domain (DMD) methylation status of the H19 gene. Using a parental-specific analysis, we confirmed for the first time that H19 biallelic expression is tightly associated with a severe demethylation of the paternal H19 DMD in SCNT embryos, suggesting that these epigenetic anomalies to the H19 locus could be directly responsible for the reduced size and low implantation rates of cloned embryos in cattle.