Onset of the first S-phase is determined by a paternal effect during the G1-phase in bovine zygotes

The aim of this study was to characterize the respective influences of the paternal and the maternal components on the timing of the first S-phase in the bovine zygote. In vitro-matured oocytes were fertilized in vitro with sperm conferring a high blastocyst rate (embryos of group 1) or a low blastocyst rate (embryos of group 2). Resulting zygotes were either allowed to develop in vitro to the blastocyst stage or exposed to 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine in order to characterize the timing of their first S-phases. Timing of pronuclear formation was similar in the two groups, but the onset of S-phase and the first cleavage occurred earlier in group 1 than in group 2. We also showed that the length of the S-phase represented 30% of the first cell cycle in group 1 and 20% in group 2. Differences in times of onset of the first S-phase observed between embryo groups concerned both male and female pronuclei in a similar manner and were not dependent on the maternal component of the zygote. Our data demonstrated that the precocity of the onset of the first S-phase stemmed from a paternal control exerted during a transient period of the G1-phase.     

体外受精和孤雌活化过程中小鼠胚胎细胞骨架的动态变化

为研究微管在体外受精与孤雌活化过程中的动态变化,本实验比较了体外受精胚胎、SrCl2激活的孤雌胚胎和体内受精的原核期胚胎在体外发育的情况,采用免疫荧光化学与激光共聚焦显微术检测卵母细胞孤雌活化过程中及体外受精后微管及核的动态变化,以分析微管在减数分裂过程中的作用及其对早期发育的影响.结果显示,体内受精胚胎的发育率显著高于体外受精和孤雌激活胚胎体外发育率(P<0.05),而体外受精与孤雌激活胚胎在各阶段发育率差异均不显著.在体外受精中,精子入卵,激活卵母细胞,减数分裂恢复,纺锤丝牵拉赤道板卜致密排列的母源染色体向纺锤体两侧迁移;后期将染色体拉向两极;末期时,微管分布于两组已去凝集的母源染色体之间,卵母细胞排出第二极体(the second polarbody,Pb2),解聚的母源染色体形成雌原核.同时,在受精后5～8 h精子染色质发生去浓缩与再浓缩,形成雄原核.在原核形成的同时,胞质星体在雌、雄原核的周围重组形成长的微管,负责雌、雄原核的迁移靠近.孤雌活化过程中,卵母细胞恢复减数分裂,姐妹染色单体分离,被拉向两极,经细胞松弛素B处理后,活化4～6 h,卵周隙中未见Pb2,而在胞质中出现两个混合的单倍体原核,之间由微管相连接,负责两个单倍体原核的迁移靠近.与体外受精相比较,孤雌活化时卵母细胞更容易被激活,减数分裂期间微管的发育早且更完善.     

Pronuclear synthesis of DNA in fertilized and parthenogenetically activated mouse eggs : A cytophotometric study

Mouse one-cell embryos were taken 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13 and 18 h after insemination. One-cell parthenogenones were induced by treatment of mouse eggs obtained 20 h after HCG injection with hyaluronidase and cultured for 0.5, 1, 3, 4.5, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 24 h. Some parthenogenones were pulse-labelled with tritiated thymidine, cut and autoradiographed. Both the embryos and parthenogenones were Feulgen-stained, and integrated relative optical absorption of either pronuclei or nuclei of polar bodies was measured with a cytophotometer. In some fertilized eggs and parthenogenones the DNA synthesis sets in 4–6 h after either insemination or parthenogenetic stimulus. Between the 8th and 13th hour after insemination the fraction of DNA synthesizing embryonic pronuclei remained at the level 30–40%. Most parthenogenones duplicated their DNA content between the 8th and 12th hour after hyaluronidase treatment. The DNA synthesis time in pronuclei of embryos was determined to be 3.5–4.0 h and that of pronuclei of parthenogenones approx. 4 h. The minimal time of the G2 phase was estimated to be 3–5 h. The first labelled pronuclei of parthenogenones were detected 6 h after stimulus. Male pronuclei started and ended DNA synthesis earlier than female pronuclei. Differences in the DNA content between pronuclei of the parthenogenones (when there are two in one parthenogenone) were observed beginning with the 10th h after hyaluronidase treatment.The DNA content in the nuclei of the second polar bodies (PB) of embryos increased slowly between the 8th and 22nd hour after insemination, up to an overall value of 1.4 C. That of the nuclei of the polar bodies of parthenogenones accompanied the synthesis of DNA in pronuclei to the 10th hour after hyaluronidase treatment, up to an overall value of 1.4 C.     

A simple method for producing tetraploid porcine parthenogenetic embryos

The objective was to produce porcine tetraploid parthenogenetic embryos using cytochalasin B, which inhibits polar body extrusion. Porcine cumulus-enclosed oocytes aspirated from antral follicles were cultured for 51 h, and treated with cytochalasin B from 35 h to 42 h after the start of culture. After maturation culture, 74.7% (2074/2775) of oocytes treated with cytochalasin B did not extrude a polar body (0PB oocytes). In contrast, 80.4% (1931/2403) of control oocytes extruded a polar body (1PB oocytes). The 0PB oocytes were electrically stimulated, treated with cytochalasin B again for 3 h, and then cultured without cytochalasin B. Six days after electrical stimulation, 49.8% (321/644) reached the blastocyst stage. The number of cells in these blastocysts derived from 0PB oocytes was significantly lower than that from 1PB oocytes (0PB: 24.9 ± 10.6; 1PB: 43.0 ± 17.1; mean ± SD). A porcine chromosome 1-specific sequence was detected in parthenogenetic 0PB embryos by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. Typical pronucleus-stage samples derived from 0PB embryos had two pronuclei, each with two signals. In two-cell and blastocyst-stage embryos, four signals were detected in each nucleus derived from 0PB embryos. We inferred that 0PB oocytes, which had a tetraploid number of chromosomes, started to develop as tetraploid parthenotes after electrical stimulation, and that tetraploid status was stably maintained during early embryonic development, at least until the blastocyst stage.     

Unique Pattern of ORC2 and MCM7 Localization During DNA Replication Licensing in the Mouse Zygote

In eukaryotes, DNA synthesis is preceded by licensing of replication origins. We examined the subcellular localization of two licensing proteins, ORC2 and MCM7, in the mouse zygotes and two-cell embryos. In somatic cells ORC2 remains bound to DNA replication origins throughout the cell cycle, while MCM7 is one of the last proteins to bind to the licensing complex. We found that MCM7 but not ORC2 was bound to DNA in metaphase II oocytes and remained associated with the DNA until S-phase. Shortly after fertilization, ORC2 was detectable at the metaphase II spindle poles and then between the separating chromosomes. Neither protein was present in the sperm cell at fertilization. As the sperm head decondensed, MCM7 was bound to DNA, but no ORC2 was seen. By 4 h after fertilization, both pronuclei contained DNA bound ORC2 and MCM7. As expected, during S-phase of the first zygotic cell cycle, MCM7 was released from the DNA, but ORC2 remained bound. During zygotic mitosis, ORC2 again localized first to the spindle poles, then to the area between the separating chromosomes. ORC2 then formed a ring around the developing two-cell nuclei before entering the nucleus. Only soluble MCM7 was present in the G2 pronuclei, but by zygotic metaphase it was bound to DNA, again apparently before ORC2. In G1 of the two-cell stage, both nuclei had salt-resistant ORC2 and MCM7. These data suggest that licensing follows a unique pattern in the early zygote that differs from what has been described for other mammalian cells that have been studied.     

Paternal influence on timing of pronuclear DNA synthesis in naturally ovulated and fertilized mouse eggs

Fertilized oocytes of the inbred genotypes AKR (AK), C57BL/6 (B6), DBA/2 (D2), and CBA (CB) and the hybrid genotypes F1 (female AK X male B6) and F1 (female B6 X male AK) were collected by flushing the oviducts of female mice every 2 h from 2 until 26 h post coitum. Developmental stages of the embryos and DNA content of the pronuclei were estimated by morphological criteria and cytofluorometric measurement of the pronuclei (ethidium bromide-stained DNA), respectively. In all genotypes, S-phase started about 4 h post conception (h.p.c.). The duration of S-phase amounted to 5.9 h (F1 [female B6 X male AK]), 6.4 h (AK), 8.5 h (B6), 9.4 h (F1 [female AK X male B6]), 9.8 h (D2), and 11.4 h (CB). In each of the reciprocal F1 hybrids, the length of S-phase differed from the maternal genotype (p less than 0.01) and resembled closely the paternal genotype (p greater than 0.25). Cleavage from one-cell stage to two-cell stage occurred between 16 and 21 h.p.c.     

Retinoblastoma susceptibility gene product (pRb) and p107 functionally separate the requirements for serum and anchorage in the cell cycle G1-phase

Growth factors and cell anchorage are both required for cell cycle G(1)-phase progression, but it is unclear whether their function is mediated through the same set of cell cycle components and whether they are both required during the same periods of time. We separately analyzed the requirements of serum and anchorage during G(1)-phase progression and found that human dermal fibroblasts as well as wild type, pRb(-/-), and p107(-/-) mouse embryonic fibroblasts needed serum (growth factors) until mid-G(1)-phase but required cell anchorage until late G(1)-phase to be competent for S-phase entry. Importantly, however, pRb/p107 double-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacked serum requirement in mid-G(1)-phase but still required cell anchorage until late G(1)-phase to enter S-phase. Our results indicate that pRb and p107 do not constitute the last control point for extracellular factors during G(1)-phase progression, and they functionally separate the requirements for serum and cell anchorage in terms of involved cell cycle components.     

Okadaic Acid Blocks PDGF-Induced Proliferation of AKR-2B Fibroblasts at the Transition from G1- to S-Phase

Okadaic acid (OA) at 100 ng/ml completely inhibited platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced DNA synthesis but had no effect on early signals, i.e., PDGF receptor autophosphorylation or stimulation of inositolphosphate turnover. A detailed analysis using synchronized cells showed that OA acts at the transition from G1-phase to S-phase. These observations were confirmed by flow cytometric DNA analysis of asynchronously grown cells. Here cells were specifically arrested in the G1-phase.     

Development of swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) embryos after parthenogenetic activation and nuclear transfer using serum fed or starved fetal fibroblasts

The knowledge of oocyte activation and somatic cell nuclear transfer in the swamp buffalo (Buballus bubalis) is extremely rare. The objectives of this study were the following: (1) to investigate the various activation treatments on the parthenogenetic development of buffalo oocytes, (2) to examine the events of nuclear remodeling and in the in vitro development of cloned buffalo embryos reconstructed with serum fed or starved fetal fibroblasts, and (3) to investigate the in vivo development of cloned embryos derived from serum fed or starved cells after transfer into the recipients. The rates of cleavage and blastocyst development were found to be significantly higher (P < 0.05) when the oocytes were activated by the combination treatment of calcium ionophore (A23187) or ethanol followed by 6-DMAP than those activated by electrical pulses and 6-DMAP or other single treatments. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the percentage in the G0/G1 phase in serum starved cells was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that in serum fed cells (88.8 +/- 6.2 vs. 68.2 +/- 2.6). At 1 h post fusion (hpf), most of the transferred nuclei (71%) from serum fed cells did not change in size, and the nuclear envelope remained intact, whereas 29% underwent NEBD and PCC. When serum starved cells were used, 83% of the transferred nuclei underwent NEBD and PCC whereas 17% remained intact. The nuclear swelling and pronucleus (PN) formation were observed at 2-4 and 12 h post activation (hpa), respectively. The remodeled nuclei underwent mitotic division and developed to the 2-cell stage within 18-24 hpa. Fifty-five percent of oocytes reconstructed with serum fed cells were 2PN and 45% were 1PN, whereas 79% of the embryos reconstructed from starved cells were 1PN and 21% were 2PN. The percentage of blastocyst development of the embryos derived from starved cells was higher than that from the serum fed cells (35% vs. 21%, P < 0.05). Pregnancy was detected after the transfer of cloned blastocysts into the recipients but no recipients supported the development to term. The results of this work can be used to establish effective activation protocols for buffalo oocytes which can be used during nuclear transfer experiments.     

Cell-cycle-dependent subcellular localization of cyclin B1, phosphorylated cyclin B1 and p34cdc2 during oocyte meiotic maturation and fertilization in mouse

M phase or maturation promoting factor (MPF), a kinase complex composed of the regulatory cyclin B and the catalytic p34cdc2 kinase, plays important roles in meiosis and mitosis. This study was designed to detect and compare the subcellular localization of cyclin B1, phosphorylated cyclin B1 and p34cdc2 during oocyte meiotic maturation and fertilization in mouse. We found that all these proteins were concentrated in the germinal vesicle of oocytes. Shortly after germinal vesicle breakdown, all these proteins were accumulated around the condensed chromosomes. With spindle formation at metaphase I, cyclin B1 and phosphorylated cyclin B1 were localized around the condensed chromosomes and concentrated at the spindle poles, while p34cdc2 was localized in the spindle region. At the anaphase/telophase transition, phosphorylated cyclin B1 was accumulated in the midbody between the separating chromosomes/chromatids, while p34cdc2 was accumulated in the entire spindle except for the midbody region. At metaphase II, both cyclin B1 and p34cdc2 were horizontally localized in the region with the aligned chromosomes and the two poles of the spindle, while phosphorylated cyclin B1 was localized in the two poles of spindle and the chromosomes. We could not detect a particular distribution of cyclin B1 in fertilized eggs when the pronuclei were initially formed, but in late pronuclei cyclin B1 was accumulated in the pronuclei. p34cdc2 and phosphorylated cyclin B1 were always concentrated in one pronucleus after parthenogenetic activation or in two pronuclei after fertilization. At metaphase of 1-cell embryos, cyclin B1 was accumulated around the condensed chromosomes. Cyclin B1 was accumulated in the nucleus of late 2-cell embryos but not in early 2-cell embryos. Furthermore, we also detected the accumulation of p34cdc2 in the nucleus of 2- and 4-cell embryos. All these results show that cyclin B1, phosphorylated cyclin B1 and p34cdc2 have similar distributions at some stages but different localizations at other stages during oocyte meiotic maturation and fertilization, suggesting that they may play a common role in some events but different roles in other events during oocyte maturation and fertilization.     

The localization of LAP2beta in bovine oocytes after in vitro activation and fertilization

The present study was designed to clarify the localization of LAP2beta and to compare it with those of lamins A/C and B in bovine oocytes after activation and in vitro fertilization (IVF). After fertilization, LAP2beta was not found until telophase II, and was observed around condensed chromatin after the extrusion of the second polar body, but not in activated oocytes. Although the reaction of LAP2beta was temporally negative or weak on the membrane of the growing small pronuclei, it became strong on the fully grown pronuclei of both activated and fertilized oocytes. Examination of the timing of DNA synthesis using bromodeoxyuridine revealed that the expression of LAP2beta on the pronuclear membrane became strong around the end of the DNA synthesis in both activated and fertilized oocytes. Both male and female pronuclei exhibited the same reactivity to all nuclear proteins examined. It was also shown that LAP2beta first assembled around condensed chromatin, followed by the integration of lamins B and A/C as in somatic cells. LAP2beta staining was maintained on the nuclear membrane of the embryonic cells at interphase until the later stage of preimplantational development. There were no differences between parthenogenetic and fertilized embryos in the expression and localization of LAP2beta from the PN-stage oocyte to the blastocyst. The assembly of LAP2beta was observed around the telophase chromatin of both blastocyst and cumulus cells. Thus, it was shown that the timing of the aggregation of LAP2beta at the second meiosis was different from that in the mitosis of blastocyst and somatic cells. LAP2beta was constantly expressed in the nuclear membrane in in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos as was lamin B, and lamin A/C was expressed stage-dependently in both types of embryos. Lamin A/C was positive in some inner cell mass cells of parthenogenetic blastocysts, but not those of in vitro fertilized embryos.     

Detailed analysis of pronucleus development in bovine zygotes in vivo: Ultrastructure and cell cycle chronology

The ultrastructural development of pronuclei and cytoplasm was studied in bovine zygotes developed in the oviducts. The timing of the morphological events was related to sonographically detected ovulation and to the progress of the cell cycle determined by double labelling (³H and ¹⁴C-thymidine) of newly synthesized DNA combined with autoradiographic detection. The onset of the S-phase occurred at 11–12 hr after the estimated time of ovulation (EO), and this phase of the cell cycle lasted for 7–9 hr. During the G1-phase, the pronuclei contained spheres of compact, electron-dense fibrillar material classified as nucleolus precursor bodies. Early in the S-phase (13 hr aver EO) spherical fibrillogranular bodies containing larger rounded electron-dense components were detected in the periphery of the pronuclei as well. At 15 hr, the latter bodies had become connected through electron-dense material with spherical multivacuolated fibrillar bodies of the same electron density as the nucleolus precursor bodies. At 17 hr, similar compact spherical bodies, now presenting a single large vacuole, were observed on some occasions, while in other zygotes the morphology remained unchanged throughout the rest of the S and G2-phases. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Mouse Zygotes Respond to Severe Sperm DNA Damage by Delaying Paternal DNA Replication and Embryonic Development

Mouse zygotes do not activate apoptosis in response to DNA damage. We previously reported a unique form of inducible sperm DNA damage termed sperm chromatin fragmentation (SCF). SCF mirrors some aspects of somatic cell apoptosis in that the DNA degradation is mediated by reversible double strand breaks caused by topoisomerase 2B (TOP2B) followed by irreversible DNA degradation by a nuclease(s). Here, we created zygotes using spermatozoa induced to undergo SCF (SCF zygotes) and tested how they responded to moderate and severe paternal DNA damage during the first cell cycle. We found that the TUNEL assay was not sensitive enough to identify the breaks caused by SCF in zygotes in either case. However, paternal pronuclei in both groups stained positively for γH2AX, a marker for DNA damage, at 5 hrs after fertilization, just before DNA synthesis, while the maternal pronuclei were negative. We also found that both pronuclei in SCF zygotes with moderate DNA damage replicated normally, but paternal pronuclei in the SCF zygotes with severe DNA damage delayed the initiation of DNA replication by up to 12 hrs even though the maternal pronuclei had no discernable delay. Chromosomal analysis of both groups confirmed that the paternal DNA was degraded after S-phase while the maternal pronuclei formed normal chromosomes. The DNA replication delay caused a marked retardation in progression to the 2-cell stage, and a large portion of the embryos arrested at the G2/M border, suggesting that this is an important checkpoint in zygotic development. Those embryos that progressed through the G2/M border died at later stages and none developed to the blastocyst stage. Our data demonstrate that the zygote responds to sperm DNA damage through a non-apoptotic mechanism that acts by slowing paternal DNA replication and ultimately leads to arrest in embryonic development.     

Oxygen enhancement ratio as a function of dose and cell cycle phase for radiation-resistant and sensitive CHO cells

There is still controversy over whether the oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) varies as a function of dose and cell cycle phase. In the present study, the OER has been measured as a function of survival level and cell cycle phase using volume flow cell sorting. This method allows both the separation of cells in different stages of the cycle from an asynchronously growing population, and the precise plating of cells for accurate measurements at high survival levels. We have developed a cell suspension gassing and sampling system which maintained an oxygen tension less than 20 ppm throughout a series of sequential radiation doses. For both radiation-resistant cells (CHO-K1) and a radiation-sensitive clone (CHO-xrs6), we could separate relatively pure populations of G1-phase, G1/S-boundary, S-, and G2-phase cells. Each cell line showed a typical age response, with cells at the G1/S-phase boundary being 4 (CHO-K1) to 12 (CHO-xrs6) times more sensitive than cells in the late S phase. For both cell lines, G1-phase cells had an OER of 2.3-2.4, compared to an OER of 2.8-2.9 for S-phase and 2.6-2.7 for G2-phase cells. None of these age fractions showed a dependence of OER on survival level. Asynchronously growing cells or cells at the G1/S-phase boundary had an OER similar to that of G1-phase cells at high survival levels, but the OER increased with decreasing survival level to a value near that of S-phase cells. These results suggest that the decrease in OER at high survival levels for asynchronous cells may be due to differences in the OERs of the inherent cell age subpopulations. For cells in one cell cycle stage, oxygen appears to have a purely dose-modifying effect.     

Cell-cycle regulation of center initiation in Dictyostelium discoideum

The center-initiating behavior of Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae in various cell-cycle phases was investigated. Small populations of synchronized AX-2 cells were seeded 1 in 1000 into cultures of a nonsignaling mutant (NP160) incapable of initiating centers. The ability of the wild-type AX-2 cells to initiate centers among mutant amoebae displayed cell-cycle regulation. Approximately 50% of a population of S-phase cells initiated centers while only 7.5% of a population of late G2-phase cells resulted in center formation. The timing of center formation also varied with cycle position. Synchronous cultures containing only AX-2 S-phase amoebae (no NP160) displayed the initial signs of aggregation after 4.5 hr of starvation and streaming into the aggregate was complete after 6 hr. In contrast, cultures of late G2-phase amoebae initiated aggregation centers after 5.5 hr of starvation and did not complete streaming until 7.5 hr. In addition, the number of aggregates formed by these synchronous cultures of AX-2 cells also varied with cycle position. In general, these results suggest a cell-cycle modulation of the autonomous signaling responsible for center initiation.     

An association between the radiation-induced arrest of G2-phase cells and low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity: a plausible underlying mechanism?

The survival of asynchronous and highly enriched G1-, S- and G2-phase populations of Chinese hamster V79 cells was measured after irradiation with 60Co gamma rays (0.1-10 Gy) using a precise flow cytometry-based clonogenic survival assay. The high-dose survival responses demonstrated a conventional relationship, with G2-phase cells being the most radiosensitive and S-phase cells the most radioresistant. Below 1 Gy, distinct low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS) responses were observed for the asynchronous and G2-phase enriched cell populations, with no evidence of HRS in the G1- and S-phase populations. Modeling supports the conclusion that HRS in asynchronous V79 populations is explained entirely by the HRS response of G2-phase cells. An association was discovered between the occurrence of HRS and the induction of a novel G2-phase arrest checkpoint that is specific for cells that are in the G2 phase of the cell cycle at the time of irradiation. Human T98G cells and hamster V79 cells, which both exhibit HRS in asynchronous cultures, failed to arrest the entry into mitosis of damaged G2-phase cells at doses less than 30 cGy, as determined by the flow cytometric assessment of the phosphorylation of histone H3, an established indicator of mitosis. In contrast, human U373 cells that do not show HRS induced this G2-phase checkpoint in a dose-independent manner. These data suggest that HRS may be a consequence of radiation-damaged G2-phase cells prematurely entering mitosis.