Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Combinational Treatment of Trichostatin A and Vitamin C Improves the Efficiency of Cloning Mice by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
09:52

Combinational Treatment of Trichostatin A and Vitamin C Improves the Efficiency of Cloning Mice by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Published on: April 26, 2018

13.2K

Inhibition of Aberrant DNA Re-methylation Improves Post-implantation Development of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Rui Gao1, Chenfei Wang1, Yawei Gao1

  • 1Clinical and Translational Research Center of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.

Cell Stem Cell
|August 28, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Cloning via somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is inefficient due to epigenetic errors. Inhibiting DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and histone demethylases improves cloned embryo development by correcting DNA methylation issues.

Area of Science:

  • Epigenetics
  • Developmental Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a technique for cloning cells, but its efficiency is limited by epigenetic abnormalities in cloned embryos.
  • Epigenetic reprogramming errors, particularly in DNA methylation, hinder the full-term development of SCNT embryos.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in mouse SCNT embryos.
  • To identify epigenetic barriers limiting SCNT efficiency.
  • To explore therapeutic strategies for improving SCNT outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Generation of genome-wide DNA methylation maps from pre-implantation mouse SCNT embryos.
  • Analysis of gene and retrotransposon expression in SCNT embryos.
  • Pharmacological inhibition of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs).
  • Overexpression of histone demethylases.

Main Results:

  • Identified widespread aberrant DNA re-methylation in SCNT embryos, affecting genes crucial for zygotic genome activation.
  • DNMT inhibition alone partially rescued methylation defects and improved embryo development.
  • Combined DNMT inhibition and histone demethylase overexpression synergistically reduced aberrant DNA methylation and significantly enhanced full-term SCNT embryo development.

Conclusions:

  • Excessive DNA re-methylation is a major impediment to efficient SCNT.
  • Targeting multiple epigenetic barriers, such as aberrant DNA methylation, offers a promising strategy to increase cloning efficiency.
Keywords:
DNA re-methylationde novo DNA methyltransferaseepigenetic reprogramminghistone modificationsmouseplacentaepost-implantation developmentsomatic cell nuclear transferzygotic genome activation

More Related Videos

Application of the DNA-Specific Stain Methyl Green in the Fluorescent Labeling of Embryos05:59

Application of the DNA-Specific Stain Methyl Green in the Fluorescent Labeling of Embryos

Published on: May 2, 2015

14.7K
Methods for Precisely Localized Transfer of Cells or DNA into Early Postimplantation Mouse Embryos09:04

Methods for Precisely Localized Transfer of Cells or DNA into Early Postimplantation Mouse Embryos

Published on: December 25, 2015

10.9K

Related Concept Videos

Non-nuclear Inheritance01:29

Non-nuclear Inheritance

Most DNA resides in the nucleus of a cell. However, some organelles in the cell cytoplasm⁠—such as chloroplasts and mitochondria⁠—also have their own DNA. These organelles replicate their DNA independently of the nuclear DNA of the cell in which they reside. Non-nuclear inheritance describes the inheritance of genes from structures other than the nucleus.
23.3K
Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming01:29

Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming

Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012...
2.7K
Nuclear Export of mRNA02:31

Nuclear Export of mRNA

Before mRNAs are exported to the cytoplasm, it is crucial to check each mRNA for structural and functional integrity. Eukaryotic cells use several different mechanisms, collectively known as mRNA surveillance, to look for irregularities in mRNAs. Irregular or aberrant mRNA are rapidly degraded by various enzymes. If a defective mRNA escapes the surveillance, it would be translated into a protein which would either be non-functional or not function properly. One of the primary irregularities in...
8.8K
Feedback Inhibition00:46

Feedback Inhibition

Biochemical reactions are occurring constantly in cells, converting starting substances to different products, usually with the help of enzymes that speed the reactions. Without enzymes, it would take far too long for most reactions to occur to be useful to the cell!
57.2K
Nuclear Stability03:18

Nuclear Stability

Protons and neutrons, collectively called nucleons, are packed together tightly in a nucleus. With a radius of about 10−15 meters, a nucleus is quite small compared to the radius of the entire atom, which is about 10−10 meters. Nuclei are extremely dense compared to bulk matter, averaging 1.8 × 1014 grams per cubic centimeter. If the earth’s density were equal to the average nuclear density, the earth’s radius would be only about 200 meters.
To hold positively charged protons together...
23.3K
Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus01:15

Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus

Development of the reproductive organs in an embryo starts from a bipotential state. This means the early embryo can develop either male or female reproductive organs. The formation of these organs begins with the growth of gonadal ridges that arise from the intermediate mesoderm during the fifth week of development.
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the...
3.7K