Alteration of the DNA methylation status of donor cells impairs the developmental competence of porcine cloned embryos.

Nuclear reprogramming induced by somatic cell nuclear transfer is an inefficient process, and donor cell DNA methylation status is thought to be a major factor affecting cloning efficiency. Here, the role of donor cell DNA methylation status regulated by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) or 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine-5'-triphosphate (5-methyl-dCTP) in the early development of porcine cloned embryos was investigated. Our results showed that 5-aza-dC or 5-methyl-dCTP significantly reduced or increased the global methylation levels and altered the methylation and expression levels of key genes in donor cells.

Epigenetic modification agents improve genomic methylation reprogramming in porcine cloned embryos.

Incomplete DNA methylation reprogramming in cloned embryos leads to low cloning efficiency. Our previous studies showed that the epigenetic modification agents 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) or trichostatin A (TSA) could enhance the developmental competence of porcine cloned embryos. Here, we investigated genomic methylation dynamics and specific gene expression levels during early embryonic development in pigs.