Identification of a novel gene set in human cumulus cells predictive of an oocyte's pregnancy potential.

OBJECTIVE: To identify a gene expression signature in human cumulus cells (CCs) predictive of pregnancy outcome across multiple clinics, taking into account the clinic and patient variations inherent in IVF practice. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of single human cumulus-oocyte complexes with the use of a combined microarray and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) approach. SETTING: Multiple private IVF clinics. PATIENT(S): Fifty-eight patients. Samples from 55 patients underwent qRT-PCR analysis, and samples from 27 patients resulted in live birth. INTERVENTION(S): Gene expression analysis for correlation with pregnancy outcome on individual human CCs collected immediately after oocyte retrieval. Pregnancy prediction analysis used leave-one-out cross-validation with weighted voting. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Combinatorial expression of 12 genes in 101 samples from 58 patients. RESULT(S): We found a set of 12 genes predictive of pregnancy outcome based on their expression levels in CCs. This pregnancy prediction model had an accuracy of 78%, a sensitivity of 72%, a specificity of 84%, a positive predictive value of 81%, and a negative predictive value of 76%. Receiver operating characteristic analysis found an area under the curve of 0.763 ± 0.079, significantly greater than 0.5 (random chance prediction). CONCLUSION(S): Gene expression analysis in human CCs should be considered in identifying oocytes with a high potential to lead to pregnancy in IVF-ET.

The role of ERp44 in maturation of serotonin transporter protein.

In heterologous and endogenous expression systems, we studied the role of ERp44 and its complex partner endoplasmic reticulum (ER) oxidase 1-α (Ero1-Lα) in mechanisms regulating disulfide bond formation for serotonin transporter (SERT), an oligomeric glycoprotein. ERp44 is an ER lumenal chaperone protein that favors the maturation of disulfide-linked oligomeric proteins. ERp44 plays a critical role in the release of proteins from the ER via binding to Ero1-Lα. Mutation in the thioredoxin-like domain hampers the association of ERp44C29S with SERT, which has three Cys residues (Cys-200, Cys-209, and Cys-109) on the second external loop. We further explored the role of the protein chaperones through shRNA knockdown experiments for ERp44 and Ero1-Lα. Those efforts resulted in increased SERT localization to the plasma membrane but decreased serotonin (5-HT) uptake rates, indicating the importance of the ERp44 retention mechanism in the proper maturation of SERT proteins. These data were strongly supported with the data received from the N-biotinylaminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA-biotin) labeling of SERT on ERp44 shRNA cells. MTSEA-biotin only interacts with the free Cys residues from the external phase of the plasma membrane. Interestingly, it appears that Cys-200 and Cys-209 of SERT in ERp44-silenced cells are accessible to labeling by MTSEA-biotin. However, in the control cells, these Cys residues are occupied and produced less labeling with MTSEA-biotin. Furthermore, ERp44 preferentially associated with SERT mutants (C200S, C209S, and C109A) when compared with wild type. These interactions with the chaperone may reflect the inability of Cys-200 and Cys-209 SERT mutants to form a disulfide bond and self-association as evidenced by immunoprecipitation assays. Based on these collective findings, we hypothesize that ERp44 together with Ero1-Lα plays an important role in disulfide formation of SERT, which may be a prerequisite step for the assembly of SERT molecules in oligomeric form.

Transcriptional reprogramming of somatic cell nuclei during preimplantation development of cloned bovine embryos.

While somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) techniques have been successfully implemented in several species to produce cloned embryos and offspring, the efficiencies of the procedures are extremely low, possibly due to insufficient reprogramming of somatic nuclei. Employing GeneChip microarrays, we describe global gene expression analysis of bovine in vitro fertilized (IVF) and SCNT blastocysts as well as respective donor cell lines to characterize differences in their transcription profiles. Gene expression profiles of our donor cell lines were significantly different from each other; however, the SCNT and IVF blastocysts displayed surprisingly similar gene expression profiles, suggesting that a major reprogramming activity had been exerted on the somatic nuclei. Despite this remarkable phenomenon, a small set of genes appears to be aberrantly expressed and may affect critical developmental processes responsible for the failures observed in SCNT embryos. Our data provide the most comprehensive transcriptome database of bovine IVF and SCNT blastocysts to date.

Cellular reprogramming for the creation of patient-specific embryonic stem cells.

The success of somatic cell nuclear transfer in mammals has opened the possibility to dedifferentiate cells from a patient into embryonic stem cells and in doing so, potentially generate all different cells and tissues of the human body. These cells could be later transplanted to the same patient without immune rejection. Whereas this principle has been demonstrated in laboratory animals, it is yet to be shown to work in primates. Herein we discuss the probability of somatic cell nuclear transfer becoming a real therapeutic alternative as well as the potential emerging dedifferentiation approaches that may eventually replace it.

Glycosyl modification facilitates homo- and hetero-oligomerization of the serotonin transporter. A specific role for sialic acid residues.

The serotonin transporter (SERT) is an oligomeric glycoprotein with two sialic acid residues on each of two complex oligosaccharide molecules. In this study, we investigated the contribution of N-glycosyl modification to the structure and function of SERT in two model systems: wild-type SERT expressed in sialic acid-defective Lec4 Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and a mutant form (after site-directed mutagenesis of Asn-208 and Asn-217 to Gln) of SERT, QQ, expressed in parental CHO cells. In both systems, SERT monomers required modification with both complex oligosaccharide residues to associate with each other and to function in homo-oligomeric forms. However, defects in sialylated N-glycans did not alter surface expression of the SERT protein. Furthermore, in heterologous (CHO and Lec4 cells) and endogenous (placental choriocarcinoma JAR cells) expression systems, we tested whether glycosyl modification also manipulates the hetero-oligomeric interactions of SERT, specifically with myosin IIA. SERT is phosphorylated by cGMP-dependent protein kinase G through interactions with anchoring proteins, and myosin is a protein kinase G-anchoring protein. A physical interaction between myosin and SERT was apparent; however, defects in sialylated N-glycans impaired association of SERT with myosin as well as the stimulation of the serotonin uptake function in the cGMP-dependent pathway. We propose that sialylated N-glycans provide a favorable conformation to SERT that allows the transporter to function most efficiently via its protein-protein interactions.

Molecular characterization and differential expression of the myostatin gene in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).

Myostatin is a recently discovered gene that inhibits muscle growth. In the present study, we characterized the myostatin locus and its expression in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). The genomic DNA and cDNA encoding the channel catfish myostatin were cloned and sequenced. The myostatin gene has three exons encoding a protein of 389 amino acids. Comparison of the genomic sequences with those of the cDNA revealed that the myostatin cDNA was 1673 base pair (bp) long with a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) and 3'-UTR of 180 and 323 bp, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences of the catfish myostatin is highly conserved with those of other organisms. The myostatin locus is highly polymorphic in channel catfish because of the presence of several microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphic sites. The myostatin gene was expressed in various tissues and developmental stages at differential levels, suggesting complex regulation of this gene and perhaps roles for myostatin in addition to those originally suggested.

Expression profile of the channel catfish spleen: analysis of genes involved in immune functions.

Both qualitative and quantitative patterns of tissue-specific gene expression can be determined using gene profiling. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis is an efficient approach not only for gene discovery and examining gene expression, but also for development of molecular resources useful for functional genomics. As part of an ongoing transcriptome analysis of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), EST analysis was conducted for gene annotations and profiling using a complementary DNA library developed from messenger RNA of the spleen. A total of 1204 spleen cDNA clones were analyzed. Of the 1204 clones, 665 clones (55.2%) were identified as orthologs of known genes from other organisms by BLAST searches and 539 clones (44.8%) as unknown gene clones. In total 147 novel genes were identified, and annotations were made to 118 of them. In addition, 389 novel EST clusters were identified. Expression profile was analyzed in relation to metabolic functional groups. A total of 28 known genes were involved in immune functions, of which 10 were identified for the first time in channel catfish. Microsatellite-containing clones were also identified that may be potentially useful for genome mapping. This work contributed to the Catfish Gene Index, and toward a Unigene set useful for functional genomics research concerning spleen gene functions in relation to disease defenses.