Reproduction Abstracts

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has a broad spectrum of many potential applications but the efficiency is still disappointingly low. It is known that major cause of it, is incorrect or incomplete reprogramming of the transferred donor nuclei.Many report indicates that Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in the process of somatic cell reprogramming. As CHIR is known as one of the activators of Wnt pathway by inhibiting glycogen ...

Epigenetic programming has a crucial role in mammalian development. It is well described that disarrangement of epigenetic programming is associated with impaired embryonic development, compromised pregnancy (ie. abortion or preeclampsia) and several imprinting disorders (i.e Prader Willi and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndromes). A useful tool to better understand the etiology of compromised pregnancy is represented by uniparental embryos, characterized by only maternal (parthenogeno...

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are generally considered to be safe, but recent studies suggest an excess of negative pregnancy outcomes. The mechanisms responsible for adverse events share similar condition like abnormal placentation, which finally leads to impaired embryo growth due to limited nutrient uptake. High autophagy activation was reported in placentae obtained from normal and compromised pregnancies. Given the evidence of placental abnormalities in pregna...

Oct4 and Nanog are the transcription factors responsible for pluripotency maintenance in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and activation of these genes in differentiated cells is considered the earliest signal of nuclear reprogramming. To date, nuclear reprogramming in somatic cells can be induced by nuclear transfer, induced expression of defined factors (Oct4, c-myc, Sox-2, and Kfl4) and, more recently, by a short exposure to a low pH. However, work in salamander as well as in p...