The Abelson tyrosine kinase (c-Abl) localization in preimplantation mouse development

The Abelson family member of non-receptor tyrosine kinase, c-Abl, has an important role in regulation of cellular processes like cell polarity, invasion, proliferation, survival and cell motility. In the present study, we investigated the localization of c-Abl protein during preimplantation mouse embryo development in vitro using immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. We have shown that c-Abl protein is expressed throughout all stages of preimplantation development. We found that c-Abl is asymmetrically localized in egg cortex, which suggests possible roles in positioning of the metaphase II spindle. We also observed strong c-Abl staining in external cells, especially enriched at the apical poles in morula stage and at the E3.5 stage blastocysts, cell membrane enrichment of c-Abl in trophectoderm (TE), the tissue responsible for implantation and placentation. The results indicate that c-Abl may play roles in preimplantation embryo development, especially in TE formation and differentiation.