Conserved roles of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 signaling in the regulation of inner cell mass development in bovine blastocysts. Issue 6 (19th April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Akizawa, Hiroki; Nagatomo, Hiroaki; Odagiri, Haruka; Kohri, Nanami; Yamauchi, Nobuhiko; Yanagawa, Yojiro; Nagano, Masashi; Takahashi, Masashi; Kawahara, Manabu
• Is Part Of: Molecular reproduction and development. Volume 83:Issue 6(2016)
• Page Start: 516
• Page End: 525
• Publication Date: 2016-04-19
• Subjects: Reproduction -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Molecular genetics -- Periodicals; Embryology -- Periodicals; 571.8
• DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22646
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1040-452X

Abstract

SUMMARY: A common process during preimplantation mammalian development is blastocyst formation, which utilizes signaling through fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), yet the mechanisms through which FGFR2 signaling affect preimplantation development in bovine embryos remain incompletely understood. Here, we used RNA‐interference to investigate the in vitro development, the frequency of blastomere apoptosis, and the mRNA expression of developmental marker genes in FGF receptor 2‐knockdown ( FGFR2 ‐KD) bovine embryos. A reduction in FGFR2 mRNA did not affect preimplantation development or the frequency of apoptotic blastomeres, but did enhanced proliferation of the inner cell mass in blastocysts ( P < 0.05)—which differs from the phenotype reported for bovine embryos using a pharmacological approach (treatment with the pan‐FGFR blocker PD173074), but agrees with previous results obtained using mouse embryos. Moreover, the expression of an epiblast marker gene, NANOG, and a primitive endoderm marker gene, GATA6, remained unchanged, whereas the expression of another primitive endoderm marker gene, HNF4A, was significantly reduced in FGFR2 ‐KD embryos. Therefore, FGFR2 signaling appears to be associated with the regulation of inner cell mass development and proliferation during blastocyst formation in cattle. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 516–525, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .