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P L Kaye

Publications and source records attributed to P L Kaye.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Endocytosis in mouse blastocysts: characterization and quantification of the fluid phase component.

Fluid phase endocytosis in mouse blastocysts was characterized using the fluid phase marker, 3H-dextran, which did not bind to the membrane. This nonsaturable uptake occurred via an energy-requiring process, with only 20% accountable by diffusion as indicated by analysis at 4 degrees C. Insulin stimulated uptake of 3H-dextran by 30% (P < 0.05) over the first hr. The rate of uptake then decreased in both control and insulin-treated blastocysts. However, by 2 hr, insulin-treated blastocysts contained 38% more 3H-dextran (38%; P < 0.01) than control blastocysts. Incubation of blastocysts in protein-free medium increased 3H-dextran uptake to a rate equivalent to 12% of the blastocyst volume/min (1,500 +/- 240 pliter/hr), compared to 4.5% and 1.5% of the blastocyst volume/min for uptake in the presence of 0.1 g BSA/l and 10 g BSA/l, respectively. Confocal microscopic studies of fluorescently labelled dextran uptake in blastocysts, cultured in the absence of BSA, showed an increase in weak fluorescence labelling in the trophectoderm cells of blastocysts, compared to blastocysts cultured in the presence of BSA. There was no diffusion of fluorescence label into the blastocoel cavity. This is consistent with fluid being endocytosed, possibly by a large number of small pinocytic vesicles. Thus fluid-phase endocytosis in blastocysts is stimulated by insulin, increasing the delivery of nutrient-containing fluid into blastocysts. In the absence of protein, embryos also increase fluid uptake, possibly in an attempt to maintain the rate of supply of protein nutrient to trophectoderm cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Characterization of glucose transport in preimplantation mouse embryos.

Membrane transport of glucose divorced from metabolism, was analysed in 2-cell embryos, morulae and blastocysts in the preimplantation mouse. A non-metabolizable radiolabelled analogue, 3,0 methyl D-glucose (3OMG) was used, and glucose was used as well in morulae and blastocysts; incubation times were < or = 5 min. Uptake occurred by combination of a non-saturable process, resistant to cytochalasin-B, and a facilitated process exhibiting classic Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The rate constant for the non-saturable component increased from 1.22 +/- 0.12 pL embryo-1 min-1 in 2-cell embryos to 2.08 +/- 0.44 pL embryo-1 min-1 in blastocysts, determined using 3OMG. The Km values of the saturable component for 3OMG at 22 degrees C were relatively constant at about 6.5 mM in 2-cell embryos, morulae and blastocysts. At 37 degrees C, the Km increased from 6 mM in 2-cell embryos to 17 mM in blastocysts. Vmax increased about five-fold during development from the 2-cell stage to the morula stage and about three-fold during development to the blastocyst. The Km values for glucose in morulae and blastocysts were constant at about 1.3 mM at 37 degrees C. Uptake of 3OMG in blastocysts was inhibited by glucose and stimulated by incubation in glucose-free medium. There was no kinetic evidence for the participation of multiple saturable components in uptake by blastocysts or morulae. This supports the observation that the glucose transporter GLUT2, which is first expressed at the 8-cell stage to supplement GLUT1 expressed in the oocyte, does not contribute to the uptake of environmental glucose and is, therefore, probably restricted in expression to abcoelic membrane areas of the trophectoderm. Together with the known values of glucose in uterine fluid, the kinetic data indicate that most glucose enters the trophectoderm by this GLUT1 at a rate which directly reflects the external glucose concentrations. The activity increased on a cellular basis as development proceeded, suggesting increased activity to meet the increasing metabolic requirements of the blastocyst for glucose.

3-O-Methylglucose↗
PubMed1995

Glutamine transport by mouse inner cell masses.

Mouse blastocysts take up glutamine by specific transport systems. Glutamine is an important precursor for macromolecular synthesis and a potential alternative fuel to glucose. This study compared glutamine uptake in blastocysts and isolated inner cell masses and characterized the major participating systems in the latter. Inner cell masses take up glutamine by facilitated transport systems. The identity of these was investigated using substrate competition and kinetic studies. Na(+)-dependent uptake of 13 mumol glutamine l-1 was inhibited by 60% by 1 mmol tryptophan l-1, 25% by 1 mmol 2-amino-2-norbornanecarboxylic acid l-1 and 50% by 1 mmol lysine l-1. Furthermore, 1 mmol 2-methyl(amino)isobutyric acid (MeAIB) l-1 inhibited uptake by 29%. Kinetic analysis of MeAIB-resistant uptake revealed a predominant Na(+)-dependent facilitated uptake system with Km and Vmax values of 434 +/- 72 mumol l-1 and 237 +/- 38 fmol per inner cell mass per 10 min, respectively. The inhibition of Na(+)-dependent uptake by tryptophan, lysine and the analogue 2-amino-2-norbornanecarboxylic acid suggests that most uptake of glutamine by inner cell masses occurs via the same system that predominates in whole blastocysts, Bo,+. The period of assay was so brief that significant participation of the inner cell mass in whole blastocyst uptake was precluded showing that system Bo,+ is expressed by both the trophectoderm and inner cell mass components of the blastocyst. However, MeAIB inhibited uptake by inner cell masses but not by blastocysts. This MeAIB-sensitive uptake had a Km value of 4.3 +/- 1.7 mmol l-1 and a Vmax value of 451 +/- 119 fmol per inner cell mass per 10 min. These characteristics suggest the first embryonic appearance of system A, which is a common Na(+)-dependent transporter in many somatic cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1995

Stimulation of endocytosis in mouse blastocysts by insulin: a quantitative morphological analysis.

The effects of insulin on the endocytic activity of mouse blastocysts in vitro were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy, quantitative image analysis and electron microscopy. Confocal studies showed that fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled markers, dextran (fluid phase) and albumin (combined membrane and fluid phase), were endocytosed by blastocysts and localized within vesicles (about 2.5 microns in diameter) in the outer trophectoderm cells. No labelling was detected in the inner cell mass cells or the blastocoel cavity. Treatment with 170 nmol insulin l-1 stimulated the endocytosis of fluorescently labelled dextran in freshly collected blastocysts, increasing mean vesicle diameter per embryo by 15% (P < 0.05) after incubation with insulin for 2.5 h and mean vesicle number per embryo by 56% (P < 0.01) after 6 h. Both effects were also evident in blastocysts that had been cultured from the late eight-cell stage. Blastocysts incubated for 6 h with insulin displayed increased convolutions in the trophectoderm apical membrane compared with controls, indicating increased membrane activity and suggesting macropinosome formation. Collectively, these results suggest that insulin enhances endocytosis in the trophectoderm by stimulating uptake at the apical membrane into larger and more numerous endocytic vesicles and with some evidence of vesicle fusion. This mechanism may provide a metabolic basis for the stimulation by insulin of biosynthesis, proliferation and morphological development in early embryos.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Insulin regulates protein metabolism in mouse blastocysts.

Mouse blastocysts, in vitro, endocytosed 100 micrograms/ml 125I-labelled bovine serum albumin (BSA) at a rate equivalent to 192 +/- 27 microliters/hr/mg embryonic protein over the first 20 min. Insulin stimulated this initial uptake by 30% (P < 0.05). After this time, accumulation of 125I-labelled BSA began to plateau as the endocytosed 125I-labelled BSA was catabolized and 125I was released from the cells. Insulin caused an approximately 72% (P < 0.05) increase in the amount of uncatabolized 125I-labelled BSA remaining in insulin-treated blastocysts after 2 hr as compared to control blastocysts. Insulin partially inhibited catabolism of endocytosed 125I-labelled BSA during the first 2 hr following transfer to nonradioactive medium. After this time, degradation ceased in both control and insulin-treated blastocysts, leaving a small, uncatabolized protein pool remaining in the embryos; however, as a result of insulin's inhibitory effects on the initial catabolic rate, the uncatabolized protein pool was 30% (P < 0.05) larger in insulin-treated blastocysts after the 4 hr chase. Insulin inhibited endogenous protein degradation in blastocysts by 37% (P < 0.05). Combined with previous studies showing a 90% increase in endogenous protein synthesis in blastocysts following short-term stimulation with insulin (Harvey and Kaye, 1988), these results suggest that insulin acts to increase the endogenous protein reserves in the embryo. Dose-response studies indicated an EC50 of 0.5 pM for insulin's stimulation of 125I-labelled BSA accumulation, consistent with action via its own receptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Insulin-like growth factor-1 stimulates growth of mouse preimplantation embryos in vitro.

Because recent studies have particularly implicated the insulin growth factor family in early development, the effects of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) on the development of mouse embryos in vitro were investigated in detail. When added to the medium for culture of two-cell embryos, IGF-1 stimulated the number of cells in the resultant blastocysts after 54 hr, entirely by increasing the number of cells in the inner cell mass (ICM) (16.0 +/- 0.5 vs. 12.6 +/- 0.5 cells/ICM). This stimulation was also achieved when ICMs were isolated from blastocysts prior to culture for 24 hr with IGF-1 (22.3 +/- 1.0 vs. 17.5 +/- 0.8 cells/ICM). There was no effect on IGF-1 on trophectoderm (TE) cell proliferation. In morphology studies, IGF-1 also increased the proportion of blastocysts (62% +/- 3% vs. 49% +/- 4%) while decreasing the number of embryos remaining as morulae (32% +/- 3% vs. 38% +/- 2%) or in the early cleavage stages (7% +/- 3% vs. 13% +/- 3%) after 54 hr culture from the two-cell stage. All these effects were achieved with EC50s of approximately 60 pM IGF-1, which is in the range for IGF-1 receptor mediation; however, cross reaction with insulin, IGF-2, or other unknown receptors is not excluded. Nonetheless, the results show that physiological concentrations of IGF-1 (17-170 pM, 0.1-1 ng/ml), which have been observed in the reproductive tract, affect the early embryo, suggesting a normal role for this factor in the regulation of growth of the developing conceptus before implantation.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Mediation of the actions of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 on preimplantation mouse embryos in vitro.

Previous studies showed that both insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) stimulate metabolism and growth of preimplantation embryos. Because the effects of insulin occur with very low doses, it was suggested that its effects were mediated by its own receptors. However, the effects of IGF-1 occurred at higher doses, suggestive of cross reaction with the insulin receptor but still in the range for mediation via its own receptor. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediation of the metabolic and growth effects of insulin and IGF-1 using a specific insulin receptor antagonist. The antagonistic B-10 Fab fragment (B-10f) completely blocked stimulation of protein synthesis by both insulin and IGF-1, indicating that the insulin receptor mediates this action of both hormones. Alternately, only insulin's stimulation of inner cell mass mitogenesis and morphological development was inhibited by the B-10 Fab fragment. This showed that growth stimulation by insulin and IGF-1 was mediated via different receptors, insulin through its own receptor and IGF-1 through some other receptor. However, mediation via the IGF-2 receptor is not excluded since IGF-1 stimulates compaction when there is evidence for only the presence of the IGF-2 receptor. In summary, insulin or IGF-1 at physiological concentrations stimulates preimplantation mouse embryos, suggesting an important role for both these growth factors in early development.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

IGF-2 stimulates growth and metabolism of early mouse embryos.

Recent reports indicate that the insulin gene family plays a significant role in early development. Both insulin and IGF-1 stimulate growth and metabolism in preimplantation mouse embryos, however, little is known of the physiological effects of IGF-2. In this study, addition of IGF-2 to defined culture medium for the culture of 2-cell embryos stimulated blastocyst formation by 15%, ICM mitogenesis by 37%, and protein synthesis by 35%. EC50s of 12-63 pM IGF-2 for these responses were in the range for mediation by IGF-2 receptors. These results coupled with the previously demonstrated presence and expression of the IGF-2 receptor from the 2-cell stage supports a role for this third member of the insulin gene family in early development.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Stimulation of protein synthesis and expansion of pig blastocysts by insulin in vitro.

Present evidence indicates that insulin may act as a growth factor during preimplantation development. This hypothesis has been tested on pig blastocysts by determining the effect of insulin on protein synthesis and blastocyst expansion over 24 h. Blastocysts were collected from superovulated gilts or sows on Day 5 or 6 and incubated overnight in a modified BMOC2 medium. Those that were cultured with 1.7 nM insulin had 14% larger radii, and were 36% more active in their incorporation of [3H]leucine (protein synthesis) than those that had been cultured in non-supplemented medium. There was a significant linear correlation between the rate of protein synthesis and the radius of blastocysts when all blastocysts and only those cultured with insulin were examined, but the correlation for the blastocysts in non-supplemented medium was just outside statistical significance. The regression coefficient for the insulin-treated blastocysts was 132% of that for blastocysts cultured in unsupplemented medium; this suggests that insulin increased the size of blastocysts and the rate of protein synthesis per unit size. The results indicate that pig blastocysts respond to physiological levels of insulin in similar fashion to those of mice and cattle, supporting the hypothesis that insulin may act as a general embryonic growth factor. Because of the cross reaction between the insulin receptor and the ligands, insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), the results also suggest that IGF-1, reported to be present in pig uterine fluid, could be involved in this stimulation in utero.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Characterization of glutamine uptake in mouse two-cell embryos and blastocysts.

Mouse two-cell embryos and blastocysts take up [3H]glutamine in vitro at a constant rate for at least 15 min, depending on the concentration of glutamine and developmental stage of the embryo. Uptake by two-cell embryos can be resolved into two saturable components. The major contributing system is Na+ independent, inhibited by alanine, methionine, 2-amino-2-norbornanecarboxylic acid (BCH) or leucine and has a Km of 3856 +/- 672 mumols l-1 and Vmax of 436 +/- 58 fmol per embryo per 10 min. These features are characteristics of the ubiquitous system L transporter. The second component is Na+ dependent with Km of 1064 +/- 914 mumols l-1 and Vmax 107 +/- 47 fmol per embryo per 10 min. Similar Vmax and inhibition of this component by glycine suggest a low reactivity with the gly-system. Blastocyst uptake of glutamine is mainly by a Na(+)-dependent saturable mechanism with Km of 524 +/- 75 mumols l-1 and Vmax of 1264 +/- 101 fmol per embryo per 10 min which is inhibited by alanine, isoleucine, leucine and BCH, features characteristic of the system B0,+. The increase in uptake capacity as a consequence of the appearance of the system B0,+ may be related to increased metabolic requirements for glutamine, in the rapidly expanding blastocyst.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Mouse blastocysts respond metabolically to short-term stimulation by insulin and IGF-1 through the insulin receptor.

Insulin specifically stimulates protein synthesis in compacted mouse embryos on days 3 and 4 after fertilization, with an EC50 of 0.5 pM (Harvey and Kaye, 1988). The identity of the receptor mediating this short-term effect of insulin was further examined by dose-response studies with IFG-1 and by using a specific anti-insulin receptor antiserum that has no appreciable cross-reaction with IGF-1 receptors. IGF-1 caused a maximum 40% stimulation of protein synthesis after 4 h exposure (similar to the response to insulin) with an EC50 of 150 pM IGF-1. The insulin receptor-specific antiserum, or IgGs isolated from it, also stimulated protein synthesis at dilutions as high as 1:1,000 to the same degree as insulin (approximately 40%). This agonistic action of the insulin receptor antiserum, the EC50 of 150 pM for IGF-1, and the previously established EC50 of 0.5 pM for insulin, all with similar maximal stimulation, strongly support the conclusion that the short-term metabolic stimulation of mouse blastocysts by insulin is mediated by insulin receptors. Immunosurgical isolation of inner cell masses before and after exposure to 1.7 pM insulin (sufficient to stimulate only the insulin receptor) showed that insulin stimulates protein synthesis in these cells as well as in the trophectoderm cells of the blastocyst. This finding suggests that in intact blastocysts, insulin may travel across the trophectoderm to the inner cell mass, acting anabolically on both tissues. Analysis of the agonistic effect of the B-10 antiserum showed there was no evidence of an unresponsive subpopulation of embryos.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Visualization of insulin receptors on mouse pre-embryos.

Because insulin stimulates pre-embryonic protein metabolism and growth, the presence of insulin receptors on early mouse embryos was investigated immunohistochemically, using a specific anti-insulin receptor IgG. Staining was not present on fertilized eggs or on 2-cell, 4-cell or uncompacted 8-cell embryos, but insulin receptors were visible on compacting 8-cell embryos and on morulae and blastocysts. This ontogeny correlates with functional studies showing that insulin affects protein synthesis during these post-compaction stages. Insulin receptors were also present on isolated inner cell masses, which have also been shown to be responsive to insulin. Because the ontogeny of the appearance of insulin receptors and the presence of these receptors on both cell populations in the blastocyst coincide with the stimulatory effects of insulin observed in previously reported functional studies on pre-embryos, we believe that these insulin receptors mediate insulin's regulatory actions during early mouse embryogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Insulin increases cell numbers and morphological development in mouse pre-implantation embryos in vitro.

Insulin, alone or in combination with bovine serum albumin (BSA), was investigated for its effects on cell proliferation and on the proportions of mouse pre-implantation embryos reaching compaction and forming blastocysts during culture in a common basal medium in vitro. Insulin promoted cleavage by 16-20% when added to medium for culture of 2-cell embryos to morulae, blastocysts and expanded blastocysts over 24, 48 and 72 h. These effects on cell division were supported by increases of 65-100% and 31-100% in the rates of compaction and blastocyst formation respectively. The results indicate that the receptor responsible for these actions is probably expressed prior to compaction and possibly at the 4-cell stage. Identical responses to 1.7 and 170 nM insulin suggest that the insulin receptor is capable of mediating both of these developmental effects, although similar mediation by an insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptor is not excluded. BSA, normally a component of culture media, promoted cleavage between 24 and 48 h of culture as well as compaction and blastocyst formation at 15 microM (1 g L-1), probably through nutritional support. Compaction appeared to be promoted by some non-specific action of BSA. Blastocysts that had developed in the presence of both 170 nM insulin and 15 microM BSA contained similar numbers of cells to blastocysts that had developed in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

IGF-2 receptors are first expressed at the 2-cell stage of mouse development.

A specific IGF-2 receptor antiserum was used to reveal the presence of IGF-2 receptors during preimplantation development of mice. Receptors were present on 2-, 4- and 8-cell embryos, morulae, blastocysts, and on ICMs isolated prior to staining. There was no evidence for receptors on fertilized eggs. These observations confirm reports of the expression of IGF-2 receptor mRNA as early as the 2-cell stage and refine similar observations in blastocysts to confirm expression in both the TE and ICM. A potential auto/paracrine loop is thus one of the first products of activation of the embryonic genome and is expressed constitutively through preimplantation development.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Antibodies to early pregnancy factor retard embryonic development in mice in vivo.

Previous work in this laboratory has shown that passive immunization of mice against early pregnancy factor (EPF) leads to failure to maintain pregnancy. The findings presented in this paper demonstrate that this treatment affects the development of the embryos very early in gestation. By Day 3, 54 and 25% of embryos in the 2 groups treated with anti-EPF immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM, respectively, had not developed to the 4-cell stage, compared with 12 and 1% in the control groups. None of the embryos in the mice treated with anti-EPF had developed beyond the 8-cell stage. A similar delay in development after treatment was observed on Day 4. The effect apparent during the early stages of cleavage is an indirect rather than a direct one, as 2-cell embryos (32-36 h post coitum), cultured in vitro in the presence of anti-EPF antibodies, developed uninterrupted to the morula and blastocyst stage. The delay in development did not appear to be caused by a disruption of the normal pattern of circulating progesterone, as progesterone concentrations on Day 4 were within the normal range for Quackenbush mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Maternal diabetes and retarded preimplantation development of mice.

The streptozocin-induced diabetic (STZ-D) mouse was found to be a suitable model for studying the effects of maternal diabetes on the preimplantation embryo. This study looked at the effects of maternal diabetes on embryonic growth. Female Quakenbush mice were made diabetic (plasma glucose levels greater than 20 mM) by injection of 190 mg/kg i.p. STZ and were superovulated by standard methods. The blastocysts collected on day 4 from diabetic mothers had 8.5% fewer cells and a 35% lower protein synthetic rate than control embryos. Their cellular protein synthetic rate was 19% less than that in controls. Morulae from diabetic mothers also displayed a reduced protein synthetic rate, but this reduction was not seen in the two-cell embryo. Furthermore, blastocysts cultured in vitro from two-cell embryos from diabetic and control mothers displayed similar protein synthetic rates. This infers that the two-cell embryos from diabetic mothers are normal, and the retardation seen in later development in vivo occurs after the two-cell stage while the embryo is still free in the oviductal and uterine environment. Treatment of the diabetic mice with ultralente insulin every 12 h raised the protein synthetic rate of those blastocysts toward control levels, whereas treatment with lente insulin every 8 h recovered the embryo to the same rate as the control embryos. Because insulin has been shown to be mitogenic and stimulates protein synthesis of morulae and blastocysts in vitro, the absence of insulin in the diabetic mothers may be the cause of the retardation observed in their preimplantation embryos.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Preimplantation development in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic mouse.

Streptozotocin (STZ) was used to develop a diabetic mouse model in which to study the development of the preimplantation embryo. STZ doses of 0, 160, 190, 210 and 240 mg kg-1 were given; 190 mg kg-1 was found to be the most suitable as the standard diabetogenic dose, providing about 60% mice with plasma glucose greater than 20 mM. The STZ-diabetic mice responded to superovulation with 10 i.u. of gonadotrophin in the same manner as control mice, producing similar embryo numbers at 48 h, 72 h and 96 h post-hCG. Furthermore, the proportion of 2-cell embryos collected from STZ-diabetic mice which developed to blastocysts in vitro was similar to that of 2-cell embryos from control mice. The STZ-diabetic mouse model after superovulation thus produced normal early preimplantation embryos whose development can be examined in detail in a diabetic environment.

Animals↗