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E S Platonov

Publications and source records attributed to E S Platonov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Genomic imprinting in the epigenetics of mammals].

Genomic imprinting is one of the most remarkable and important epigenetic phenomena. A biological ban on parthenogenetic and androgenetic development of mammals is an obvious consequence of genomic imprinting. Genomic imprinting defects may cause malformations, clinical syndromes, and tumor growth in humans and to the large offspring syndrome and an increased mortality after in vitro manipulations with early embryos in mammals. Differential expression of parental alleles during ontogeny implies a mechanism of reversible, selective marking of gene alleles. These relatively stable epigenetic modifications, which do not affect the primary nucleotide sequence of DNA, may be transmitted in somatic cell lines and reproduced in the germ line. The genomic imprinting mechanism may be involved in other epigenetic processes, such as epigenetic inheritance, nonrandom allele segregation, meiotic drive, etc. Artificial modulation of genomic imprinting effects with the use of growth factors and demethylating agents permits partial "normocoping" during the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos. Targeted changes in the transcriptional activity of imprinted genes provide prerequisites for epigenetic correction of syndromes and diseases caused by genomic imprinting defects.

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TGFalpha reactivates imprinted Igf2 in the parthenogenetic mice embryos and placenta.

Imprinted genes play important roles in the mammalian development. In the parthenogenetic embryos (PE) there is only expression of maternally expressed genes. Therefore, PEs are appropriate experimental models to study genomic imprinting controlling mechanisms. The maternally expressed H19 and paternally expressed Igf2 are reciprocally imprinted genes in normal embryos. Here we studied effect of transforming growth factor alpha (TGFalpha) treatment in vitro (10 ng/ml at the morula stage) on the expression of Igf2/H19 locus in mice PE (9.5-days of gestation, 25 somites) and their placentas (PP). Using RT-PCR we showed that TGFalpha reactivated maternally imprinted Igf2 gene in parthenogenetic embryos and placentas. In spite of similar Tgfalpha expression in the pre-implantation stages, its expression in the 9.5-day parthenogenetic embryos is significantly less than in normal embryos (NE). In our experiments it was shown that reactivation of Igf2 gene occurred independently of H19 gene. In vitro TGFalpha treatment of mouse PE reactivated paternally expressed Igf2 gene in the PE and PP. In the PE and PP both Igf2 and H19 were expressed. It seems that TGFalpha can play an important role as modulator of the Igf2/H19 locus.

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[Genomic imprinting in mammals].

A review of the data on the mechanisms and effects of genomic imprinting, an epigenetic phenomenon regulating the development in placentate mammals, is presented. In contrast to the majority of gene loci with biallelic expression, the expression of imprinted loci is monoallelic. In humans and mice, more than 300 imprinted loci have been identified, in which maternal or paternal alleles may either be expressed or be found in a repressed state during ontogeny. Imprinting is established during gametogenesis, and the repression of an allele of the imprinted locus is determined by methylation of the key regulatory element of this allele. Both the maternal and paternal chromosome sets are required for normal development in mammals. This is why parthenogenesis and androgenesis in these animals are impossible in nature. As a result of differential gene expression of many imprinted loci, the balance of gene activity is established, which is necessary for normal proliferation and differentiation of various cell clones in embryogenesis. Many human developmental abnormalities and syndromes are determined by defective genomic imprinting. In particular, the loss of imprints, which is followed by the occurrence of biallelic expression of some imprinted loci, may cause malignant tumors.

Alleles↗

[Transforming growth factor alpha (TGFalpha) modulates the effect of genomic imprinting and prolongs the development of parthenogenetic murine embryos].

The effect of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) on the development of diploid parthenogenetic mouse embryos (CBA x C57BL/6)F1 was studied. The embryos were in vitro treated with the TGF alpha at the stage of morula. Upon reaching the blastocyst stage, each embryo was implanted into uterus of a pseudopregnant female. At a dose of 5 ng/ml, the TGF alpha was found to improve development of parthenogenetic embryos before implantation, increase significantly the number of developing blastocysts, and promote embryo implantation into uterus. After treatment with TGF alpha at a dose of 10 ng/ml, 4% of parthenogenetic embryos reached the stage of 30-45 somites and had forelimb and hindlimb buds; the embryo size from vertex to sacrum was 2.0 to 3.8 mm. A well-developed placenta was observed in 6% of TGF alpha-treated parthenogenetic embryos that reached the somite stages. In the parthenogenetic embryos with the most prominent development (42-45 somites) treated with 10 ng/ml of TGF alpha, the placental diameter was 4.0 to 4.2 mm on day 12 of gestation, which is close to the placental size of the normal (fertilized) 11-day-old mouse embryos. Our results suggest that endogenous TGF alpha can modulate the effects of genomic imprinting significantly improving formation of trophoblast derivatives and promoting longer postimplantation development of parthenogenetic embryos.

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Prolonged development of normal and parthenogenetic postimplantation mouse embryos in vitro.

Parthenogenetic mammalian embryos show reduced placental development and do not develop beyond the 25-somite stage. But non-parthenogenetic embryos in culture, without a functional placenta, can develop to 40 somites or more. We have therefore examined the possibility that parthenogenetic embryos might also show prolonged development in culture. After parthenogenetic activation and diploidization, 23% of CBA and 56-58% of hybrid (CBAxC57BL/6) F1 mouse eggs developed in culture to blastocysts. When transferred to pseudopregnant recipients: 60% of the CBA blastocysts implanted and 26% of these developed to somite stage embryos; 71-72% of the hybrid blastocysts implanted and 11-17% of these developed to somite stage embryos. Improved development of postimplantation embryos explanted into culture at about the 15-20 somite stage was obtained by opening the visceral yolk sac (without exteriorizing the embryo). All the normal (non-parthenogenetic) embryos cultured in this way developed to more than 35 somites and many reached 45-55 somites. Under the same conditions, 11/17 diploid parthenogenetic CBA embryos developed in culture to more than 35 somites and 5 of these reached 45 somites; and 9/28 diploid parthenogenetic (CBAxC57BL/6) F1 embryos developed to 35 somites or more and 5 of these reached 45 somites. The size and protein content of the parthenogenetic embryos after culture was less than that of the normal embryos of equivalent stages. These results raise new possibilities for the analysis of parthenogenesis and genomic imprinting, including studies of the effects of adding to the culture medium specific growth factors and demethylating agents.

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[Effects of opioids on the development of preimplantation mouse embryos].

Opioid peptide DAGO, agonist of opiate mu-receptors and naloxone antagonist of mu-, delta- and kappa-receptors in concentration 3 x 10 M inhibit embryonic development of CBA mice. Inhibition was stage-specific with maximal effect after addition of opioids to zygotes: in the presence of Naloxone no more than 6.7% of embryos reached morula and blastula stages and in the presence of DAGO--36.8%. The other embryos were arrested at two-, four- or, sometimes even, at eight-cell stages without any signs of fragmentation. Four and eight-cell embryos were less sensitive to drug action. Inhibitory effects of these opioids were reduced when they were added simultaneously to zygotes. Agonist of opiate delta-receptors, opioid peptide DADLe, failed to affect embryonic development.

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[The chemical nature of the fluorescing products accumulating in the lipids of the crystalline lenses of mice with hereditary cataract].

The content of diene conjugates (lipid hydroperoxides) was shown to be significantly higher in lipids extracted from the lenses of mice with hereditary cataract than in the controls. The same holds true for characteristics of fluorescence of the end-product of lipid peroxidation. Two (low- and high-molecular weight) peaks were detected in chromatographic lipid profile of cataract lenses measured by fluorescence on Sephadex LH-20 column, whereas only one (high-molecular weight) peak was found in lipids from normal lenses. It was established that high-molecular weight fluorescent fractions corresponded to lipid components of lipofuscin-like pigments. NMR and mass spectrometry of low-molecular weight fractions suggested that they contained predominantly products of free radical oxidation of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (C22:6).

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[Gamma- and beta-crystallin gene activation during lens morphogenesis in mice].

Lens anlages from 10-day-old mouse embryos exposed to the treatment with actinomycin D during one hour were cultivated for 15, 18 or 20 hours. Expression of gamma- and beta-crystalline genes was studied by the indirect immunofluorescence technique. It is shown that the activation of gamma- and beta-crystalline genes took place in the first stages of the formation of lens fibers, when the cells of the proximal wall of the lens vesicle were undergoing the last mitotic cycle.

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[Influence of mutant genes on crystallin synthesis in the forming mouse lens. II. Fidget and ocular retardation genes].

The beginning of synthesis and the localization of alpha- and gamma-crystallins in the developing lenses of the 10-13 and 15 days old mouse embryos of the genotypes fi/fi +/+, +/+ or/or, fi/fi or/or and +/+ +/+ were studied by means of indirect immunofluorescence. The synthesis of crystallins in the mutant embryos with the exception of the embryo +/+ or/or was shown to begin somewhat later than in the normal ones but to proceed in all defective lenses, irrespective of the degree of defect. Hence, the activation of the genes controlling the synthesis of alpha-crystallins begins at the early stages of lens development and the synthesis of these proteins proceeds even during the abnormal with the slowing down of the formation of primary lens fibers. In the cases of strong defects of morphogenesis in the fi/fi +/+ and, especially, fi/fi or/or, embryos gamma-crystallins were not detected. The synthesis of gamma-crystallins appears to begin at the final stages of lens fiber differentiation.

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[Effect of mutant genes on crystallin synthesis in the forming mouse lens. 1. Dominant gene cataract-Fr].

The beginning of synthesis, localization and content of crystallins were studied in the developing lenses of 9--13 and 15 days old embryos of CatFr/CatFr and +/+ mice by means of immunofluorescence and polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis. The mutant gene CatFr was shown not to affect the crystallin synthesis. Alpha-crystallins are first to be synthesized in the cytoplasm of cells of the proximal part of the lens vesicle (10 days of development). Gamma-crystallins are detected for the first time in the lens of 11 days old embryos in the cytoplasm of developing lens fibers which lost their ability to divide. The differences in the time of synthesis of alpha- and gamma-crystallins are, possibly, related to their different role in the process of lens fiber differentiation.

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Effects of fibroblast growth factor 2 and insulin-like growth factor II on the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos in vitro.

Most parthenogenetic embryos (PEs) in mammals die shortly after implantation, and this failure to develop is associated with genomic imprinting. We have examined the influence of human recombinant basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) and human recombinant insulin-like growth factor II (ICF-II) on the development of (CBA x C57BL/6)F1 parthenogenetic mouse embryos. Embryos were treated in vitro at the morula stage with different doses of FGF-2 and, after their development to blastocysts, transferred to pseudopregnant recipients. The optimal doses of FGF-2 did not affect the number of forming and implanting blastocysts, but increased, from 20 to 42%, the number of embryos developing to somite stages. PEs (18-21 somites) treated with an optimal dose of FGF-2 were explanted for further development in culture by treatment with the second growth factor, IGF-II. Eighty-three percent of those embryos cultured with IGF-II (2.5 microg/ml) developed to 35 or more somites, as compared with 36% of embryos cultured without any growth factors (P < 0.01). Also, a significantly higher proportion of PEs developed to 40-50 somites in this case. These results show that the in vitro treatment of PEs with FGF-2 at the morula stage increases the number of somite embryos, and the second treatment of somite PEs with IGF-II in culture medium prolongs their development significantly.

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[An analysis of parthogenetic cell clones in chimeric C57BL/6(PG)<-->BALB/c mice].

We studied the distribution of parthenogenetic cell clones in the retinal pigment epithelium and choroid of eyes on serial sections and in the brain, kidneys, and liver by electrophoretic analysis of glucose phosphate isomerase isozymes in 12 mouse chimeras C57BL/6(PG)<-->BALB/c obtained earlier. Asymmetry was noted in the distribution of the parthenogenetic cell clones in the eye structure, just as the earlier established asymmetry in the distribution of the parthenogenetic clones of epidermal melanoblasts. A high correlation was shown between the ratio of parthenogenetic to normal cells in the retinal pigment epithelium of the right or left eyes and epidermal melanoblasts in the hair cover of the corresponding body half of the chimera. These data suggest that there is a certain relationship between the processes leading to the characteristic distribution of the ectodermal parthenogenetic clones in the retinal pigment epithelium of the right and left eyes and epidermal melanoblasts in parthenogenetic chimeras. Electrophoretic analysis did not show parthenogenetic components in the liver or kidneys of any chimera, and the parthenogenetic component was found in the brain of only two chimeras, in which a high percentage of parthenogenetic cells of ectodermal origin was noted. In these cases, asymmetry was noted in the right and left cerebral hemispheres, just as in the retinal pigment epithelium of the right and left eyes. The data obtained suggest that, during the development of the chimeras, parthenogenetic C57BL/6 cells were actively eliminated from the tissues of endodermal and mesodermal origin. In adult chimeras C57BL/6(PG)<-->BALB/c, parthenogenetic cell clones of ectodermal origin are mostly preserved.

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[The effect of fibroblast growth factors (FGF-2, FGF-4) on the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos].

We studied the effects of two growth factors, FGF-2 and FGF-4, on development of diploid parthenogenetic mouse embryos (CBA x C57BL/6)F1. Parthenogenetic embryos were treated with FGF-2 or FGF-4 in vitro at the morula stage and, after they reached the blastocyst stage, transplanted into the uteri of pseudopregnant females. FGF-2 and FGF-4 did not affect the number of blastocysts formed in vitro or implantation into the uterus. However, FGF-2 and FGF-4 at optimal doses decreased the mortality rate of parthenogenetic embryos at the early postimplantation stages and increased twofold the number of embryos that developed in utero to the somite stages: 42 and 36%, respectively, versus 20% in the control. The results obtained suggest that the treatment of parthenogenetic mouse embryos with FGF-2 or FGF-4 modulate the effects of genomic imprinting and prolong the development of parthenogenetic embryos at the postimplantation stages.

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[Effects of growth factors FGF2 and IGF2 on the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos in utero and in vitro].

We studied the effects of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) on the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos (CBA x C57BK/6)F1. The parthenogenetic embryos were treated in vitro during the preimplantation period and, at the blastocyst stage, transplanted into the uterus of pseudopregnant females. The addition of FGF2 at an optimal dose (2.5 ng/ml) to the culture medium increased twofold the number of embryos developed in utero to the somite stages as compared to the control: 18 and 43%, respectively. The parthenogenetic embryos (18-21 somites), treated and nontreated with FGF2 during the preimplantation period, were explanted for further development in vitro and treated with IGF2 at 2.5 micrograms/ml. As a result, many more parthenogenetic embryos (> 87%) of both groups developed in vitro to the stage of 30 or more somites as compared to the control (59%). The treatment of the parthenogenetic embryos with FGF2 alone at the preimplantation stages did not improve their development in vitro at the postimplantation stages. The results we obtained suggest that the treatment of parthenogenetic embryos in vitro with FGF2 during the preimplantation period increased twofold the number of somite embryos in utero, while their subsequent treatment in vitro with IGF2 leads to a significant prolongation of their development, as compared to the control.

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[Crystallin synthesis in the lens of newborn mice].

Lenses of newborn mice were incubated for different time in the Hanks solution containing 14C-amino acids mixture. Syntheses of gamma-crystallin and subunits of alpha-crystallin were shown to start at the first minute of the incybation. The incorporation rate of 14C-amino acids into gamma-crystallin was twice as high as that into alpha-crystallin within 5 minutes of the incubation. The assembly of alpha-crystallin tetramers took place after 5 minutes from the beginning of the incubation. Preincubation with actinomycin D for 3 and 6 hours resulted in the decrease of 14C-amino acids incorporation into gamma-crystallin only. These data suggest that the synthesis of gamma-crystallin takes place on both short-lived and long-lived mRNAs. Alpha-Crystallin subunits are supposed to synthesize only on long-lived mRNAs.

Amino Acids↗

[Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) improves and prolongs the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos].

We studied the effect of the growth factor LIF on the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos (CBA x C57BL/6)F1. LIF was added to the culture medium at 10, 50, 100, and 250 ng/ml at the morula stage and parthenogenetic embryos were cultivated in vitro until the late blastocysts stage and then transplanted in the uterus of pseudopregnant females, which were then sacrificed on day 12 of pregnancy. All the LIF doses used improved the development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos at the preimplantation stages and increased the amount of blastocysts by 16%, on average, as compared to the control. LIF at 50 and 100 ng/ml increased approximately twice the number of embryos that reached the somatic stages. Some of them reached the stage of 32-45 somites and had fore and hind limb buds. No such embryos were found in the control. Well formed placenta was observed in 6% of the embryos treated with LIF and the most pronounced effect was recorded at 100 ng/ml. The data we obtained suggest that exogenous LIF can improve pre- and postimplantation development of parthenogenetic mouse embryos due, possibly, to increased survival rate of embryonic stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of blastocysts. LIF improves not only the development of the parthenogenetic embryo per se, but also the formation of its extraembryonic envelopes, which leads to the development of a larger placenta in LIF-treated parthenogenetic embryos, as compared to the control.

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