Exposure to Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields Improves the Developmental Competence and Quality of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Embryos Produced Using Fibroblast Cells and Alters Their Epigenetic Status and Gene Expression.

We examined the effects of treatment with pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) on cumulus cells and buffalo somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. PEMF treatment (30 µT for 3 hours) of cumulus cells increased (p < 0.05) the relative cell viability and cell proliferation and the expression level of OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, P53, CCNB1, and GPX, but decreased (p < 0.05) that of DNMT1, DNMT3a, GSK3b, and BAX, whereas the expression level of DNMT3b, GLUT1, BCL2, CASPASE3, SOD1, and CATALASE was not affected. PEMF treatment of SCNT embryos at the beginning of in vitro culture increased (p < 0.05) the blastocyst rate (51.4% ± 1.36% vs. 42.8% ± 1.29%) and decreased (p < 0.01) the apoptotic index to the level in in vitro fertilization blastocysts, but did not significantly alter the total cell number and the inner cell mass:trophectoderm cell number ratio of blastocysts compared to the controls. PEMF treatment increased the expression level of NANOG, SOX2, CDX2, GLUT1, P53, and BCL2 and decreased that of BAX, CASPASE3, GSK3b, and HSP70, but not OCT4, DNMT1, DNMT3a, DNMT3b, HDAC1, and CCNB1 in blastocysts. It increased (p < 0.001) the global level of H3K27me3 but not H3K18ac. These results suggest that PEMF treatment of SCNT embryos improves their developmental competence, reduces the level of apoptosis, and alters the expression level of several important genes related to pluripotency, apoptosis, metabolism, and stress.

Uranium in drinking water: effects on mouse oocyte quality.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the reproductive toxicological effects of uranium (U) at 2.5, 5, and 10 mgU/kg/d chronically administered in drinking water for 40 d. Swiss female control mice (n = 28) and mice chronically contaminated with uranyl nitrate in drinking water (n = 36) were tested. The number and quality of ovulated oocytes, chromatin organization, and nuclear integrity were evaluated. No significant differences were obtained in the numbers of ovulated oocytes between the different groups. Nevertheless, in 1,520 of the oocytes examined, dysmorphism increased from 11.99% in the control group to 27.99%, 27.19%, and 27.43% in each of the contaminated groups, respectively, in a dose-independent manner. On the other hand, morphological chromatin organization from 880 oocytes examined showed an increase in metaphase plate abnormalities from 37.20% (+/-7.21) in the control group to 55.13% (+/-21.36), 58.29% (+/-21.72), and 64.10% (+/-12.62) in each of the contaminated groups, respectively. Cumulus cell (CC) micronucleation, a parameter of nuclear integrity, increased from 0.21% (+/-0.31) in the control group to 1.92 (+/-0.95), 2.98 (+/-0.97), and 3.2 (+/-0.98), respectively. Both metaphase plate abnormalities and CC micronucleation showed an increase in a dose-dependent manner (r = 0.9; p < 0.001). The oocyte and its microenvironment showed high sensitivity to uranium contamination by drinking water. The lowest observed adverse effect level for this system is estimated at a level below 2.5 mgU/kg/d for female mice.