Phosphorylation of ezrin on threonine T567 plays a crucial role during compaction in the mouse early embryo

The preimplantation development of the mouse embryo leads to the divergence of the first two cell lineages, the inner cell mass and the trophectoderm. The formation of a microvillus pole during compaction at the eight-cell stage and its asymmetric inheritance during mitosis are key events in the emergence of these two cell populations. Ezrin, a member of the ERM protein family, seems to be involved in the formation and stabilization of this apical microvillus pole. To further characterize its function in early development, we mutated the key residue T567, which was reported to be essential for regulation of ezrin function through phosphorylation. Here, we show that expression of ezrin mutants in which the COOH-terminal threonine T567 was replaced by an aspartate (to mimic a phosphorylated residue; T567D) or by an alanine (to avoid phosphorylation; T567A) interferes with E-cadherin function and disrupts the first morphogenetic events of development: compaction and cavitation. The active mutant ezrin-T567D induces the formation of numerous and abnormally long microvilli at the surface of blastomeres. Moreover, it localizes all around the cell cortex and inhibits cell-cell adhesion and cell polarization at the eight-cell stage. During the following stages, only half of the embryos are able to compact and finally to cavitate. In those embryos, the amount of ezrin-T567D decreases in the basolateral areas, while the proportion of adherens junctions increases. The reverse inactive mutant ezrin-T567A is mainly cytoplasmic and does not perturb compaction at the eight-cell stage. However, at the 16-cell stage, it relocalizes at the basolateral cortex, leading to a strong decrease in the surface of adherens junctions, and finally, embryos abort development. Our results show that ezrin is directly involved in the formation of microvilli in the early mouse embryo. Moreover, they indicate that maintenance of ezrin in basolateral areas prevents microvilli breakdown and inhibits the formation of normal cell-cell contacts mediated by E-cadherin, thereby impairing blastomeres polarization and morphogenesis of the blastocyst.     

Expression and distribution of cell adhesion molecule uvomorulin in mouse preimplantation embryos

We have examined the synthesis and distribution of the cell adhesion molecule uvomorulin in mouse preimplantation embryos. Uvomorulin can already be detected on the cell surface of unfertilized and fertilized eggs but is not synthesized in these cells. Uvomorulin synthesis starts in late two-cell embryos and seems not to be correlated with the onset of compaction. The first signs of compaction are accompanied by a redistribution of uvomorulin on the surface of blastomeres. During compaction uvomorulin is progressively removed from the apical membrane domains of peripheral blastomeres. In compact morulae uvomorulin is no longer present on the outer surface of the embryo but is localized predominantly in membrane domains involved in cell-cell contacts of adjacent outer blastomeres. On inner blastomeres of compact morulae uvomorulin remains evenly distributed. This uvomorulin distribution once established during compaction is maintained and also found in the blastocyst: on trophectodermal cells uvomorulin localization is very similar to that in adult intestinal epithelial cells while uvomorulin remains evenly distributed on the surface of inner cell mass cells. The possible role of the redistribution of uvomorulin for the generation of trophectoderm and inner cell mass in early mouse embryos is discussed.     

Experimental manipulation of compaction of the mouse embryo alters patterns of protein phosphorylation

Compaction, occurring at the eight-cell stage of mouse development, is the process of cell flattening and polarisation by which cellular asymmetry is first established. Changes in the pattern of protein phosphorylation have been correlated with this early event of development (TL Bloom, J McConnell: Mol Reprod Dev 26:199-210, 1990). In the study reported here, groups of embryos were treated in ways known to affect particular features of compaction and were then labeled with [32P]orthophosphate; the phosphoproteins obtained were examined following electrophoresis in one and two dimensions. Four-cell embryos were treated with protein synthesis inhibitors, which advance cell flattening. This treatment resulted in only minor differences from the phosphoprotein profile of untreated four-cell embryos. Inhibition of protein synthesis at the eight-cell stage has little effect on cell flattening or polarisation. However, some phosphoproteins that are observed normally in eight-cell but not in four-cell embryos were no longer detectable if labeling took place in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors. Eight-cell embryos incubated in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, which disrupts various features of compaction, showed a relative increase in the phosphorylation of a group of phosphoprotein spots associated with the eight-cell but not with the four-cell stage. Embryos incubated in Ca2(+)-free medium, which prevents intercellular flattening and delays polarisation, showed a relative decrease in the phosphorylation of the same group of phosphoprotein spots. The behaviour of these phosphoproteins may therefore be correlated with some of the features of compaction.     

小鼠胚胎致密化起始的调控机制

植入前小鼠胚胎的发育事件包括第一次卵裂、胚胎基因组激活、桑椹胚致密、囊胚形成。小鼠受精卵胚胎的致密化发生在8-细胞阶段晚期, 致密过程中, 胚胎卵裂球本身以及卵裂球之间发生了一系列的变化。这些变化包括卵裂球微绒毛以及胞质成分的极性化分布, 卵裂球之间形成特殊的胞间连接。致密化是哺乳动物胚胎发育过程中的第一个细胞分化事件, 即导致了内细胞团以及滋养外胚层的产生。植入后, 内细胞团将发育成为胚体, 滋养外胚层将发育成为胎盘等胚外组织。细胞粘附分子E-cadherin介导的胞间粘附起始了致密化。卵裂球发生粘附所需的组分在致密前已经存在, 但是直至8-细胞阶段晚期连接复合体才表现出明显的粘附活性。敲除E-cadherin基因, 发现母源性的E-cadherin足以介导致密。E-cadherin介导的胞间粘附是细胞粘附的第一步。文章综述了E-cadherin介导胞间粘附的具体过程以及蛋白激酶C(Protein kinase C, PKC)调控该过程的相关 机制。     

Activation of protein kinase C triggers premature compaction in the four-cell stage mouse embryo

During mouse preimplantation development, the cells of the mouse embryo undergo a progressive subcellular reorganization at compaction, which eventually results in the formation of two distinct cell types. We have investigated the effect that activators of the Ca2(+)-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (PKC) have on mouse compaction. Phorbol ester activation of PKC caused premature compaction of four-cell embryos within a few minutes of addition followed by a prolonged decompaction phase after 1 hr. This response was dose-dependent to concentrations as low as 250 pg/ml. Diacylglycerides also caused compaction; however, it was more sustained than with phorbol esters and was not followed by a phase of decompaction. Inhibition of PKC with sphingosine blocks induced compaction in a dose-dependent manner and also blocks normal compaction of eight-cell embryos. A monoclonal antibody to the cell adhesion molecule, E-cadherin, which mediates mouse embryo compaction, completely blocks compaction induced by these activators of PKC. Indirect immunofluorescence with a monoclonal antibody to E-cadherin indicates that PKC activation causes a rapid shift in the localization of this cell adhesion molecule, which coincides with the observed compaction. These results suggest that PKC plays a role in the initiation of compaction through its effect either directly or indirectly on E-cadherin.     

Development of tight junctions de novo in the mouse early embryo: control of assembly of the tight junction-specific protein, ZO-1

Tight junction development during trophectoderm biogenesis in the mouse preimplantation embryo has been examined using monoclonal antibodies recognizing the tight junction-specific peripheral membrane protein, ZO-1. In immunoblots, mouse embryo ZO-1 had a molecular mass (225 kD) equivalent to that in mouse liver, was barely detectable in four-cell embryos although later stages exhibited increasing levels. ZO-1 was first detected immunocytochemically at the compacting eight-cell stage, coincident with or just after the expression of basolateral cell adhesion and apical microvillous polarity. Initially, ZO-1 was present as a series of spots along the boundary between free and apposed cell surfaces in intact embryos or cell couplets, but subsequently staining became more linear with blastocyst trophectoderm cells being bordered by a continuous ZO-1 belt. Inhibition of cell adhesion at the 8-cell stage delayed ZO-1 appearance and randomized its surface distribution in a reversible manner. Microfilament disruption, but not microtubule depolymerization, produced major disturbances in ZO-1 distribution. ZO-1 assembly de novo appeared to be independent of proximate DNA and RNA synthesis but was inhibited substantially in the absence of protein synthesis during the eight-cell stage, a treatment that did not prevent intercellular adhesion and polarization. ZO-1 surface assembly, but not adhesion and polarization, was also perturbed when single eight-cells were combined with single four-cells. The results suggest that tight junction development in mouse embryos is a secondary event in epithelial biogenesis, being dependent upon cell adhesion and cytoskeletal activity for normal expression, and can be disrupted without disturbing the generation of a stably polarized phenotype.     

Comparison of two cell-adhesion molecules, uvomorulin and cell-CAM 105

Two cell adhesion molecules, cell-CAM 105 and uvomorulin (UM), were compared by analysing their antigenic structures, their activity in cell aggregation assays and their expression in various tissues. Cell-CAM 105 is a membrane glycoprotein which mediates the intercellular adhesion of reaggregating rat hepatocytes, and UM was first described to be involved in the compaction of preimplantation mouse embryos and embryonal carcinoma cells. UM is not only expressed during embryonic development but also in various adult tissues including liver, epithelia of lung, gut, kidney and uterus. A similar distribution for UM was found in rat tissues on cell types where cell-CAM 105 is known to be present. Our studies show that (i) cell-CAM 105 and UM are distinct and different proteins; (ii) uvomorulin is involved in the compaction of rat preimplantation embryos but Fab anti-UM has no effect on reaggregating rat hepatocytes, where Fab anti-cell CAM is effective; (iii) distribution studies show that UM is expressed on a broader range of epithelial cells while cell-CAM 105 is more restricted to hepatocytes and simple epithelia. In cases where both cell adhesion molecules are expressed on the same cell types they can be localized to different parts of the cell surface.     

Stage-specific changes in protein phosphorylation during preimplantation development in the mouse

To gain insight into the role of protein phosphorylation during early mammalian development, seven mouse preimplantation stages were metabolically labeled with radioactive orthophosphate and the radiolabeled proteins identified using gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. The results obtained indicate that there are marked differences in protein phosphorylation patterns between the zygote and two-cell stage and between the morula and blastocyst stage. In addition, there is a compaction-specific change in the phosphorylation profile of three components of Mr 37,000. This compaction-specific change takes place during compaction in the eight-cell embryo; thus, it is the first biochemical change specifically correlated to this important event of early development.     

Cell shape and membrane changes in the eight-cell mouse embryo: prerequisites for morphogenesis of the blastocyst.

At the eight-cell stage, the blastomeres of the preimplantation mouse embryo undergo a dramatic shape change, compaction, which is considered essential to the future segregation of presumptive cell types. This investigation demonstrates that compaction 1) occurs in vivo, 2) is accompanied by the formation of tight and gap junctions and 3) can be reversibly inhibited in vitro by calcium-depleted medium and also by cytochalasin B (CCB). Although microtubules frequently are observed in cortical regions where compaction is proceeding, colcemid and colchicine have no inhibitory effect.Calcium-free medium and CCB dissociate compacted embryos, over 50% of which recover in normal medium in 3 and 0.25 hr, respectively. The Ca²⁺ threshold for compaction is approximately 0.1–0.2 mM and may be required for normal intercellular adhesions. Since compaction marks the beginning of tight junction formation and provides the necessary cell-to-cell apposition for the development of the zonula occludens at the morula stage, it is considered to be the initial step in blastocyst morphogenesis. In addition, this investigation provides the means to reprogram compaction by reversible inhibition and thereby study theories of cell determination.     

Synthesis and phosphorylation of uvomorulin during mouse early development.

The cell adhesion molecule, uvomorulin, is synthesised in both the 135 x 10(3) M(r) precursor and 120 x 10(3) M(r) mature forms on maternal mRNA templates in unfertilized and newly fertilized mouse oocytes. Synthesis on maternal message ceases during the 2-cell stage to resume later on mRNA encoded presumptively by the embryonic genome. Uvomorulin is detectable by immunoblotting at all stages upto the blastocyst stage, but shows variations in its total amount and processing with embryonic stage. Whilst only trace levels of phosphorylated uvomorulin are detectable in early and late 4-cell embryos, uvomorulin in 8-cell embryos is phosphorylated.     

Requirement for ERK MAP kinase in mouse preimplantation development

Preimplantation development is a crucial step for successful implantation and pregnancy. Although both compaction and blastocyst formation have been extensively studied, mechanisms regulating the early cell division stages before compaction have remained unclear. Here, we show that extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase function is required for early embryonic cell division before compaction. Our analysis demonstrates that inhibition of ERK activation in late two-cell-stage embryos leads to a reversible arrest in the G2 phase at the four-cell stage. The G2-arrested four-cell-stage embryos showed weakened cell-cell adhesion as compared with control embryos. Remarkably, microarray analyses showed that most of the programmed changes of upregulated and downregulated gene expression during the four- to eight-cell stages proceeded normally in four-cell-stage-arrested embryos that were subsequently released to resume development; however, the expression profiles of a proportion of genes in these embryos closely paralleled the stages of embryonic rather than normal development. These parallel genes included the genes encoding intercellular adhesion molecules, whose expression appeared to be positively regulated by the ERK pathway. We also show that, whereas ERK inactivation in eight-cell-stage embryos did not lead to cell division arrest, it did cause this arrest when cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion was disrupted. These results demonstrate an essential role of ERK function in two-cell to eight-cell-stage embryos, and suggest a loose parallelism between the gene expression programs and the developmental stages before compaction.     

Production of F0 mice from embryonic stem cells injected eight-cell stage embryos which stored at refrigeration temperature

At refrigeration temperature, mouse embryos can retain their developmental ability for a couple of days. Previous research reports have focused on the effect of cool temperature on the development of 2-cell stage embryos, morulae or blastocysts and determined that the embryo still has the ability to produce offspring after about 48 h storage at refrigeration temperature. Here we examined whether refrigeration temperature affects the development of the eight-cell stage and if the stored eight-cell stage embryo can still be used as a host embryo for ES cell injection. Our results show that eight-cell stage embryos can develop into blastocysts and yield pups after cold storage for 24 and 48 h. After ES cell injection, stored eight-cell stage embryos can support ES cells developing to F0 pups. In summary, cool storage can preserve the developmental ability of eight-cell stage embryos for at least 48 h, allowing transportation of the embryos at refrigeration temperature between different labs and their subsequent use as host embryos for ES cell injection.     

Temporally specific involvement of cell surface beta-1,4 galactosyltransferase during mouse embryo morula compaction

Cell surface beta-1,4 galactosyltransferase (GalTase) is shown to mediate intercellular adhesions between embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells and specifically during late morula compaction in the preimplantation mouse embryo. Monospecific anti-GalTase IgG raised against affinity-purified bovine beta-1,4 GalTase recognizes F9 EC cell GalTase as judged by immunoprecipitation and inhibition of GalTase activity, as well as by immunoprecipitation of a single 52 kd metabolically labeled membrane protein. Anti-GalTase IgG inhibits cell adhesions between EC cells, dissociates compacted mouse morulae, and inhibits blastocyst formation. Anti-GalTase IgG specifically inhibits cell adhesions during late morula compaction, coincident with a peak of surface GalTase activity as determined by direct enzyme assay. On EC cells, GalTase activity can be proteolytically released from intact cells, and is localized by indirect immunofluorescence to areas of intercellular contact, consistent with its proposed role in cell adhesion. Beta-1,4 GalTase is the first cell adhesion molecule identified that participates during late morula compaction, subsequent to uvomorulin function.     

Telomerase activity in bovine embryos during early development

The telomere is the end structure of the DNA molecule. Telomerase is the ribonuclear enzyme that helps the cell's telomere to elongate; otherwise, the telomere will shorten with each cell division through conventional DNA replication. In most mammalian species, telomerase activity is present in germ cells but not in somatic cells. Recent research shows that telomerase activity is also present in early embryos, but to our knowledge, the dynamics of this enzyme during early embryo development have not been studied. In the present work, we conducted telomerase activity assays on bovine embryos fertilized in vitro and harvested at different stages from zygote to blastocyst. A polymerase chain reaction-based assay (Telomeric Repeat Amplification Protocol) was used to detect the telomerase activity in these embryos. We demonstrated that the telomerase activity is present in the early embryos, but that its level varies with the different developmental stages. The activity was relatively low in mature oocytes. It increased after in vitro fertilization and then decreased gradually until the embryo reached the eight-cell stage. After the eight-cell stage, the telomerase activity increased again and reached its highest level in the blastocyst stage. This study provides insight regarding how telomerase activity and, possibly, the length of the telomere are reprogrammed during early embryo development.     

Identification of a putative cell adhesion domain of uvomorulin.

A rat monoclonal antibody (DECMA-1) selected against the murine cell adhesion molecule uvomorulin blocks both the aggregation of mouse embryonal carcinoma cells and the compaction of pre-implantation embryos. However, decompacted embryos eventually become recompacted in the presence of DECMA-1 and form blastocysts composed of both trophectoderm and inner cell mass. DECMA-1 also disrupts confluent monolayers of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells. DECMA-1 recognizes uvomorulin in extracts from mouse and dog tissues. Protease digestion of mouse and dog uvomorulin generated core fragments including one of 26 kd which reacted with DECMA-1. The same 26-kd fragment is recognized by anti-uvomorulin monoclonal antibodies which have been obtained from other laboratories and which dissociate MDCK cell monolayers and block the formation of the epithelial occluding barrier. This 26-kd fragment therefore seems to be involved in the adhesive function of uvomorulin.     

Reprograming of murine blastocoele formation

The present study shows that there is communication between reaggregated asynchronous cleavage stage blastomeres that regulates blastocoele formation. Individual blastomeres from eight-cell murine embryos were transferred to empty zonae pellucidae, intact two-cell embryos, or enucleated two-cell embryos, and were examined over a period of 75 hours for development of cavitation. It was found that the isolated blastomeres cavitated concurrently with intact control eight-cell embryos, while intact control two-cell embryos cavitated 24 hours later. However, the embryos resulting from combining a two-cell embryo and a blastomere from an eight-cell embryo cavitated at a time in between the eight- and two-cell controls.     

Oligosaccharides containing fucose linked alpha(1-3) and alpha(1-4) to N-acetylglucosamine cause decompaction of mouse morulae

Two- to four-cell and eight-cell mouse embryos were incubated in various fucosylated and unfucosylated oligosaccharides, fucose binding protein, and fucosylated BSA. Compaction at the eight-cell stage was reversed by a mixture containing the oligosaccharides lacto-N-fucopentaose II (80-90%), in which fucose is linked alpha(1-4) to N-acetylglucosamine, and lacto-N-fucopentaose III (10-20%), in which fucose is linked alpha(1-3) to N-acetylglucosamine. Pure lacto-N-fucopentaose III (LNFP III) and 3-fucosyl lactose (containing fucose alpha(1-3)glucose) had a similar effect. All three molecules affected blastocyst formation. Various closely related fucosylated and unfucosylated oligosaccharides did not induce decompaction or inhibit blastocyst formation. The proportion of embryos incubated from the two- to four-cell stage in LNFP II/III which reached the eight-cell stage and formed blastocysts was reduced. Those which formed compact morulae subsequently decompacted. Precompact or early compacting eight-cell embryos incubated in LNFP II/III compacted normally but subsequently decompacted and failed to form blastocysts. Decompaction of eight-cell embryos in LNFP II/III occurred during a specific period of development (80-90 hr post-hCG) and was reversible up to 84-86 hr post-hCG, but not by 92 hr post-hCG. The period of sensitivity to LNFP II/III was associated with the decrease in the ability of calcium-free medium to cause decompaction. It appears that LNFP II/III interferes with a later calcium-independent phase of compaction and we propose that LNFP III and II inhibit an endogenous lectin-saccharide interaction between membranes involved in the stabilization of compaction.