Expression Pattern of Transcription Factor OCT4 in Early Porcine (Sus scrofa) Embryos and Its Biological Function in Trophectoderm
QI Zi-Cheng, CHAI Zhuang, CUI Hong-Di, ZHANG Yu-Ting, LIU Yan, WEI Ren-Yue, XU Qian-Qian, JIN Jun-Xue, LIU Zhong-Hua*
Key Laboratory of Animal Cellular and Genetic Engineering of Heilongjiang Province/College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Abstract：Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) is a POU (Pit-Oct-Unc)-family transcription factor, which is specifically expressed in early embryos, embryonic stem cells and germ cells. Studying the expression and function of OCT4 in early porcine (Sus scrofa) embryonic development is significant for the analysis of early developmental mechanisms and pluripotency regulation. In this study, the expression pattern of OCT4 in porcine early stage embryos was studied by immunofluorescence and qPCR technology. The results showed that in parthenogenetic, in vitro fertilization and somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos, OCT4 protein widely expressed in the blastomeres from 2-cell to murola, and expressed simultaneously in the inner cell mass and trophectoderm of the blastocyst; OCT4 expression patterns in parthenogenetic and in vitro fertilization embryos were similar, the expression level declined at the 2-cell stage and increased at the 8-cell stage, and Oct4 mRNA is widely expressed in the trophoectoderm of the blastocysts. When OCT4 was specifically overexpressed in the trophoectoderm, the diameter and cell number increased significantly, trophoblast development-related genes E74-like factor 5 (ELF5) was down-regulated, EOMES was significantly up-regulated, fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathway related genes were significantly down-regulated and polarization-related genes PKCα (protein kinase Cα) and ERZIN were significantly down-regulated, methylation gene TET1 was significantly up-regulated, and DNA methyltransferases 3B (DNMT3b) was significantly down-regulated. The results indicate that OCT4 keeps expressing in the trophectoderm and might regulate proliferation after the first lineage differentiation. This study provides basic material for further study of porcine early embryonic development mechanisms and the establishment of porcine embryonic stem cells.
齐子成, 柴壮, 崔洪帝, 张宇霆, 刘龑, 伟人悦, 徐倩倩, 金君学, 刘忠华. 转录因子OCT4在猪早期胚胎的表达模式及其在滋养层中的生物学功能[J]. 农业生物技术学报, 2021, 29(10): 1855-1868.
QI Zi-Cheng, CHAI Zhuang, CUI Hong-Di, ZHANG Yu-Ting, LIU Yan, WEI Ren-Yue, XU Qian-Qian, JIN Jun-Xue, LIU Zhong-Hua. Expression Pattern of Transcription Factor OCT4 in Early Porcine (Sus scrofa) Embryos and Its Biological Function in Trophectoderm. 农业生物技术学报, 2021, 29(10): 1855-1868.
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