Fluorescence-based visualization of autophagic activity predicts mouse embryo viability.

ABSTRACT: Embryo quality is a critical parameter in assisted reproductive technologies. Although embryo quality can be evaluated morphologically, embryo morphology does not correlate perfectly with embryo viability. To improve this, it is important to understand which molecular mechanisms are involved in embryo quality control. Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process in which cytoplasmic materials sequestered by autophagosomes are degraded in lysosomes. We previously demonstrated that autophagy is highly activated after fertilization and is essential for further embryonic development. Here, we developed a simple fluorescence-based method for visualizing autophagic activity in live mouse embryos. Our method is based on imaging of the fluorescence intensity of GFP-LC3, a versatile m

SUBMITTER: Tsukamoto S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3970120 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature