Rapid inhibition of mRNA synthesis during preimplantation embryo development: vital permeabilization by lysolecithin potentiates the action of alpha-amanitin.

Lysolecithin was used to permeabilize embryonic cells to impermeant compounds without compromising embryo viability. Within 2 min of exposure to 0.05% lysolecithin, mouse morulae became permeable to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, leading to the release of calcium from intracellular stores. Although these morulae remained permeable for at least 2 h, they developed normally to the blastocyst stage during subsequent culture in vitro. Lysolecithin permeabilization was then used to potentiate the internalization of alpha-amanitin. Pretreatment with lysolecithin for 2 min markedly accelerated the onset of transcriptional inhibition from 3 h to 10 min after alpha-amanitin addition. The rapid inhibition by alpha-amanitin of mRNA synthesis in lysolecithin-treated embryos provided a precise method for delineating developmentally important transcriptional periods. Using this protocol, we found that mRNAs required for embryonic cavitation were synthesized between 87 and 91 h post-hCG, shortly before blastocoel formation commenced.