SummaryPluripotency-associated transcription factors (PATFs) modulate gene expression during early mammalian embryogenesis. Despite a strong understanding of PATFs during mouse embryogenesis, limited progress has been made in ruminants. This work aimed to describe the temporal expression of eight PATFs during both sheep and cattle preimplantation development. Transcript availability of PATFs was evaluated by reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in eggs, cleavage-stage embryos, morulae, and blastocysts. Transcripts of five genes were detected in all developmental stages of both species (KLF5, OCT4, RONIN, ZFP281, and ZFX). Furthermore, CMYC was detected in all cattle samples but was found from cleavage-stage onwards in sheep. In contrast, NR0B1 was detected in all sheep samples but was not detected in cattle morulae. GLIS1 displayed the most significant variation in temporal expression between species, as this PATF was only detected in cattle eggs and sheep cleavage-stage embryos and blastocysts. In silico analysis suggested that cattle and sheep PATFs share similar size, isometric point and molecular weight. A phenetic analysis showed two patterns of PATF clustering between cattle and sheep, among several mammalian species. In conclusion, the temporal expression of pluripotency-associated transcription factors differs between sheep and cattle, suggesting species-specific regulation during preimplantation development.
The extent to which mammalian cells share similar transcriptomes remains unclear. Notwithstanding, such cross-species gene expression inquiries have been scarce for defined cell types and most lack the dissection of gene regulatory landscapes. Therefore, the work was aimed to determine C-MYC relative expression across mammalian fibroblasts (Ovis aries and Bos taurus) via cross-species RT-qPCR and comprehensively explore its regulatory landscape by in silico tools. The prediction of transcription factor binding sites in C-MYC and its 2.5 kb upstream sequence revealed substantial variation, thus indicating evolutionary-driven re-wiring of cis-regulatory elements. C-MYC and its downstream target TBX3 were up-regulated in Bos taurus fibroblasts. The relative expression of C-MYC regulators [RONIN (also known as THAP11), RXRβ, and TCF3] and the C-MYC-associated transcript elongation factor CDK9 did not differ between species. Additional in silico analyses suggested Bos taurus-specific C-MYC exonization, alternative splicing, and binding sites for non-coding RNAs. C-MYC protein orthologs were highly conserved, while variation was in the transactivation domain and the leucine zipper motif. Altogether, mammalian fibroblasts display evolutionary-driven C-MYC relative expression that should be instructive for understanding cellular physiology, cellular reprogramming, and C-MYC-related diseases.
Embriões antes da implantação possuem células pluripotentes, ou seja, células que apresentam a capacidade de se diferenciar em todos os tecidos que compõem o feto. O controle da pluripotência em nível molecular é estabelecido por diversos fatores, entre eles, os genes relacionados à pluripotência (GRPs). Estes genes contribuem para inibição do processo de diferenciação celular e manutenção da viabilidade de células pluripotentes. No entanto, apesar do crescente conhecimento sobre as funções dos GRPs em camundongos e humanos, pouco se conhece sobre a expressão espaço-temporal e funções dos GRPs em outras espécies, incluindo ovinos. Evidências em bovinos, humanos e camundongos demonstram que GRPs podem apresentar mecanismos de ação diferentes entre as espécies. O objetivo da revisão foi analisar a atividade dos GRPs em ovinos através do perfil de expressão espaço-temporal e funções, bem como apresentar alternativas para acelerar o entendimento da pluripotência na espécie.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.