Zhu Linkai, Ming Hao, Scatolin Giovanna N, Xiao Andrew, Jiang Zongliang
Department of Animal Sciences, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 17:2024.12.17.628915. doi: 10.1101/2024.12.17.628915.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a widely used assisted reproductive technology to achieve a successful pregnancy. However, the acquisition of oxidative stress in embryo in vitro culture impairs its competence. Here, we demonstrated that a nuclear coding gene, methyltransferase-like protein 7A (METTL7A), improves the developmental potential of bovine embryos. We found that exogenous METTL7A modulates expression of genes involved in embryonic cell mitochondrial pathways and promotes trophectoderm development. Surprisingly, we discovered that METTL7A alleviates mitochondrial stress and DNA damage and promotes cell cycle progression during embryo cleavage. In summary, we have identified a novel mitochondria stress eliminating mechanism regulated by METTL7A that occurs during the acquisition of oxidative stress in embryo in vitro culture. This discovery lays the groundwork for the development of METTL7A as a promising therapeutic target for IVF embryo competence.
体外受精（IVF）是一种广泛应用的辅助生殖技术，用于实现成功妊娠。然而，胚胎体外培养过程中氧化应激的产生会损害其发育能力。在此，我们证明了一个核编码基因，即甲基转移酶样蛋白7A（METTL7A），可提高牛胚胎的发育潜力。我们发现外源性METTL7A可调节参与胚胎细胞线粒体途径的基因表达，并促进滋养外胚层发育。令人惊讶的是，我们发现METTL7A可减轻线粒体应激和DNA损伤，并在胚胎分裂过程中促进细胞周期进程。总之，我们已经确定了一种由METTL7A调节的新型线粒体应激消除机制，该机制发生在胚胎体外培养获得氧化应激的过程中。这一发现为将METTL7A开发成为IVF胚胎发育能力的有前景的治疗靶点奠定了基础。
