Limited predictive value of blastomere angle of division in trophectoderm and inner cell mass specification.

ABSTRACT: The formation of trophectoderm (TE) and pluripotent inner cell mass (ICM) is one of the earliest events during mammalian embryogenesis. It is believed that the orientation of division of polarised blastomeres in the 8- and 16-cell stage embryo determines the fate of daughter cells, based on how asymmetrically distributed lineage determinants are segregated. To investigate the relationship between angle of division and subsequent fate in unperturbed embryos, we constructed cellular resolution digital representations of the development of mouse embryos from the morula to early blastocyst stage, based on 4D confocal image volumes. We find that at the 16-cell stage, very few inside cells are initially produced as a result of cell division, but that the number increases due to cell movement. Co

SUBMITTER: Watanabe T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4034423 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature