Induction of autophagy promotes porcine parthenogenetic embryo development under low oxygen conditions

Autophagy plays an important role in embryo development; however, only limited information is available on how autophagy specifically regulates embryo development, especially under low oxygen culture conditions. In this study we used parthenogenetic activation (PA) of porcine embryos to test the hypothesis that a low oxygen concentration (5%) could promote porcine embryo development by activating autophagy. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that low oxygen tension activated autophagy and alleviated oxidative stress in porcine PA embryos. Development was significantly affected when autophagy was blocked by 3-methyladenine, even under low oxygen culture conditions, with increased reactive oxygen species levels and malondialdehyde content. Furthermore, the decreased expression of pluripotency-associated genes induced by autophagy inhibition could be recovered by treatment with the antioxidant vitamin C. Together, these results demonstrate that low oxygen-induced autophagy regulates embryo development through antioxidant mechanisms in the pig.