Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access published online on February 20, 2008
Human Molecular Genetics, doi:10.1093/hmg/ddn055
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Superovulation alters the expression of imprinted genes in the midgestation mouse placenta
1 McGill University, Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 1P3 2 Departments of Human Genetics, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 1P3 3 Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 1P3 4 Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 1P3
* Corresponding author: Jacquetta M. Trasler, M.D., Ph.D., McGill University, Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute, 4060 Ste. Catherine Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 1P3, tel. (514) 412-4400 x25235, fax. (514) 412-4331, email. jacquetta.trasler{at}mcgill.ca
Received November 7, 2007; Revised February 15, 2008; Accepted February 15, 2008
Imprinted genes play important roles in embryonic growth and development as well as in placental function. Many imprinted genes acquire their epigenetic marks during oocyte growth, and this period may be susceptible to epigenetic disruption following hormonal stimulation. Superovulation has been shown to affect growth and development of the embryo, but an effect on imprinted genes has not been shown in postimplantation embryos. In the present study, we examined the effect of superovulation/in vivo development or superovulation/3.5dpc embryo transfer on the allelic expression of Snrpn, Kcnq1ot1 and H19 in embryos and placentae at 9.5 days of gestation. Superovulation followed by in vivo development resulted in biallelic expression of Snrpn and H19 in 9.5dpc placentae while Kcnq1ot1 was not affected; in the embryos there was normal monoallelic expression of the three imprinted genes. We did not observe significant DNA methylation perturbations in the differentially methylated regions of Snrpn or H19. Superovulation followed by embryo transfer at 3.5dpc resulted in biallelic expression of H19 in the placenta. The expression of an important growth factor closely linked to H19, Insulin-like growth factor-II, was increased in the placenta following superovulation with or without embryo transfer. These results show that both maternally and paternally methylated imprinted genes were affected, suggesting that superovulation compromises oocyte quality and interferes with the maintenance of imprinting during preimplantation development. Our findings contribute to the evidence that mechanisms for maintaining imprinting are less robust in trophectoderm-derived tissues, and have clinical implications for the screening of patients following assisted reproduction.
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