H3K9 post-translational modifications regulate epiblast/primitive endoderm specification in rabbit blastocysts.

Post-translational modifications of histone H3 on lysine 9, specifically acetylation (H3K9ac) and tri-methylation (H3K9me3), play a critical role in regulating chromatin accessibility. However, the role of these modifications in lineage segregation in the mammalian blastocyst remains poorly understood. We demonstrate that di- and tri-methylation marks, H3K9me2 and H3K9me3, decrease during cavitation and expansion of the rabbit blastocyst.

Preconception and/or preimplantation exposure to a mixture of environmental contaminants altered fetoplacental development and placental function in a rabbit model.

Pregnant women are daily exposed to environmental contaminants, including endocrine disruptors that can impact the offspring's health. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of maternal oral exposure to a mixture of contaminants at a dose mimicking women's exposure, during folliculogenesis and/or preimplantation period (FED and ED groups, respectively) on the fetoplacental phenotype in a rabbit model. The mixture (DEHP, pp'DDE, β-HCH, HCB, BDE-47, BPS, PFOS, PFOA) was defined based on data from HELIX and INMA cohorts.

Major transcriptomic, epigenetic and metabolic changes underlie the pluripotency continuum in rabbit preimplantation embryos.

Despite the growing interest in the rabbit model for developmental and stem cell biology, the characterization of embryos at the molecular level is still poorly documented. We conducted a transcriptome analysis of rabbit preimplantation embryos from E2.7 (morula stage) to E6.

Effect of DHA on the quality of In vitro produced bovine embryos.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) that improves fertility by increasing membrane fluidity. Moreover, embryos produced by donor females supplied with n-3 PUFA did not show any difference in terms of the lipid profile after 7 days of culture. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of DHA (20 and 100 μM) coupled with carnosine (5 mg/mL), an antioxidant, during oocyte maturation and embryo development on the developmental and cryosurvival rates and the number of pluripotent cells.

Effects of the donor factors and freezing protocols on the bovine embryonic lipid profile†.

Embryo lipid profile is affected by in vitro culture conditions that lead to an increase in lipids. Efforts have been made to optimize embryo lipid composition as it is associated with their quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the diet supplementation of donor cows (n-3 or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids), or the slow freezing protocols (ethylene glycol sucrose vs.