A transition phase in late mouse oogenesis impacts DNA methylation of the early embryo.

A well-orchestrated program of oocyte growth and differentiation results in a developmentally competent oocyte. In late oogenesis, germinal vesicle oocytes (GVOs) undergo chromatin remodeling accompanied by transcriptional silencing from an NSN (non-surrounded nucleolus) to an SN (surrounded nucleolus) chromatin state. By analyzing different cytoplasmic and nuclear characteristics, our results indicate that murine NSN-GVOs transition via an intermediate stage into SN-GVOs in vivo.

Tet enzymes are essential for early embryogenesis and completion of embryonic genome activation.

Mammalian development begins in transcriptional silence followed by a period of widespread activation of thousands of genes. DNA methylation reprogramming is integral to embryogenesis and linked to Tet enzymes, but their function in early development is not well understood. Here, we generate combined deficiencies of all three Tet enzymes in mouse oocytes using a morpholino-guided knockdown approach and study the impact of acute Tet enzyme deficiencies on preimplantation development.

Reprogramming of DNA methylation is linked to successful human preimplantation development.

Human preimplantation development is characterized by low developmental rates that are poorly understood. Early mammalian embryogenesis is characterized by a major phase of epigenetic reprogramming, which involves global DNA methylation changes and activity of TET enzymes; the importance of DNA methylation reprogramming for successful human preimplantation development has not been investigated. Here, we analyzed early human embryos for dynamic changes in 5-methylcytosine and its oxidized derivatives generated by TET enzymes.

Zscan4 binds nucleosomal microsatellite DNA and protects mouse two-cell embryos from DNA damage.

Zinc finger protein Zscan4 is selectively expressed in mouse two-cell (2C) embryos undergoing zygotic genome activation (ZGA) and in a rare subpopulation of embryonic stem cells with 2C-like features. Here, we show that Zscan4 specifically recognizes a subset of (CA) microsatellites, repeat sequences prone to genomic instability. Zscan4-associated microsatellite regions are characterized by low nuclease sensitivity and high histone occupancy.

Single cell expression analysis of primate-specific retroviruses-derived HPAT lincRNAs in viable human blastocysts identifies embryonic cells co-expressing genetic markers of multiple lineages.

Chromosome instability and aneuploidies occur very frequently in human embryos, impairing proper embryogenesis and leading to cell cycle arrest, loss of cell viability, and developmental failures in 50-80% of cleavage-stage embryos. This high frequency of cellular extinction events represents a significant experimental obstacle challenging analyses of individual cells isolated from human preimplantation embryos. We carried out single cell expression profiling of 241 individual cells recovered from 32 human embryos during the early and late stages of viable human blastocyst (VHB) differentiation.

Functional topography of the fully grown human oocyte.

In vivo maturation (IVM) of human oocytes is a technique used to increase the number of usable oocytes for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and represents a necessity for women with different ovarian pathologies. During IVM the oocytes progress from the germinal vesicle stage (GV) through the metaphase II and during this journey both nuclear and cytoplasmic rearrangements must be obtained to increase the probability to get viable and healthy zygotes/embryos after IVF. As the successful clinical outcomes of this technique are a reality, we wanted to investigate the causes behind oocytes maturation arrest.

Spatiotemporal Reconstruction of the Human Blastocyst by Single-Cell Gene-Expression Analysis Informs Induction of Naive Pluripotency.

Human preimplantation embryo development involves complex cellular and molecular events that lead to the establishment of three cell lineages in the blastocyst: trophectoderm, primitive endoderm, and epiblast. Owing to limited resources of biological specimens, our understanding of how the earliest lineage commitments are regulated remains narrow. Here, we examined gene expression in 241 individual cells from early and late human blastocysts to delineate dynamic gene-expression changes.

YAP Induces Human Naive Pluripotency.

The human naive pluripotent stem cell (PSC) state, corresponding to a pre-implantation stage of development, has been difficult to capture and sustain in vitro. We report that the Hippo pathway effector YAP is nuclearly localized in the inner cell mass of human blastocysts. Overexpression of YAP in human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced PSCs (iPSCs) promotes the generation of naive PSCs.

The primate-specific noncoding RNA HPAT5 regulates pluripotency during human preimplantation development and nuclear reprogramming.

Long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) are derived from thousands of loci in mammalian genomes and are frequently enriched in transposable elements (TEs). Although families of TE-derived lincRNAs have recently been implicated in the regulation of pluripotency, little is known of the specific functions of individual family members. Here we characterize three new individual TE-derived human lincRNAs, human pluripotency-associated transcripts 2, 3 and 5 (HPAT2, HPAT3 and HPAT5).

Intrinsic retroviral reactivation in human preimplantation embryos and pluripotent cells.

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are remnants of ancient retroviral infections, and comprise nearly 8% of the human genome. The most recently acquired human ERV is HERVK(HML-2), which repeatedly infected the primate lineage both before and after the divergence of the human and chimpanzee common ancestor. Unlike most other human ERVs, HERVK retained multiple copies of intact open reading frames encoding retroviral proteins.

Selective impairment of methylation maintenance is the major cause of DNA methylation reprogramming in the early embryo.

Background: DNA methylomes are extensively reprogrammed during mouse pre-implantation and early germ cell development. The main feature of this reprogramming is a genome-wide decrease in 5-methylcytosine (5mC). Standard high-resolution single-stranded bisulfite sequencing techniques do not allow discrimination of the underlying passive (replication-dependent) or active enzymatic mechanisms of 5mC loss.

Dissecting the role of H3K64me3 in mouse pericentromeric heterochromatin.

To ensure genome stability, pericentromeric regions are compacted in a dense heterochromatic structure through a combination of specific 'epigenetic' factors and modifications. A cascadal pathway is responsible for establishing pericentromeric chromatin involving chromatin modifiers and 'readers', such as H3K9 histone methyltransferases (Suv)39h and heterochromatin protein 1. Here we define how H3K64me3 on the lateral surface of the histone octamer integrates within the heterochromatinization cascade.

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine in the mammalian zygote is linked with epigenetic reprogramming.

The epigenomes of early mammalian embryos are extensively reprogrammed to acquire a totipotent developmental potential. A major initial event in this reprogramming is the active loss/demethylation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in the zygote. Here, we report on findings that link this active demethylation to molecular mechanisms.

Dynamic link of DNA demethylation, DNA strand breaks and repair in mouse zygotes.

In mammalian zygotes, the 5-methyl-cytosine (5mC) content of paternal chromosomes is rapidly changed by a yet unknown but presumably active enzymatic mechanism. Here, we describe the developmental dynamics and parental asymmetries of DNA methylation in relation to the presence of DNA strand breaks, DNA repair markers and a precise timing of zygotic DNA replication. The analysis shows that distinct pre-replicative (active) and replicative (active and passive) phases of DNA demethylation can be observed.

DNA methylation reprogramming and DNA repair in the mouse zygote.

Here, we summarize current knowledge about epigenetic reprogramming during mammalian preimplantation development, as well as the potential mechanisms driving these processes. We will particularly focus on changes taking place in the zygote, where the paternally derived DNA and chromatin undergo the most striking alterations, such as replacement of protamines by histones, histone modifications and active DNA demethylation. The putative mechanisms of active paternal DNA demethylation have been studied for over a decade, accumulating a lot of circumstantial evidence for enzymatic activities provided by the oocyte, protection of the maternal genome against such activities and possible involvement of DNA repair.