Identification and functional analysis of long non-coding RNAs in human and mouse early embryos based on single-cell...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Epigenetics
• Genomics

Background:

• Epigenetic regulation is vital for fertilization and embryonic development.
• Disorders in epigenetic modifications are linked to human diseases like Rett syndrome.
• The role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human pre-implantation development remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively analyze the dynamics and functions of lncRNAs in human early-stage embryonic development.
• To compare lncRNA expression patterns between human and mouse embryos.
• To identify key functions and processes regulated by lncRNAs during pre-implantation development.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of public single-cell RNA sequencing data from human and mouse embryos.
• Expression profile analysis of lncRNAs across developmental stages.
• Weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify functional associations of lncRNAs.

Main Results:

• lncRNAs exhibit developmental stage-specific expression in human embryos, contrasting with a more temporal pattern in mouse embryos.
• lncRNAs are associated with critical functions including oocyte maturation, zygotic genome activation, and mitochondrial functions in human embryos.
• A highly conserved network of lncRNAs involved in zygotic genome activation was observed between human and mouse embryos, with limited correlation at other stages.

Conclusions:

• lncRNAs are dynamically regulated during human pre-implantation development.
• lncRNAs are integral to key developmental processes such as zygotic genome activation.
• This study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of lncRNA function in early human embryogenesis.