Expression of estrogen receptor alpha in preimplantation mice embryos

Objective:To study the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) in preimplantation mice embryos.Methods:Mice zygotes were collected from superovulated Kunming mice and cultured in vitro.Embryos at different developmental stages were collected at 0,24,36,48,72 and 96hours after cultivation.The expression of ERα in early mice embryos was detected by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and immunocytochemistry.Results:The expression of ERα mRNA was detected in all of the examined embryonic stages.The relative amount of ERα mRNA showed no significant difference between 1-cell stage embryos and 4-cell stage embryos (P>0.05).However,the relative level of ERα mRNA significantly decreased (P<0.05) at 2-cell stage and was the lowest at this stage.Over 2-cell stage,the ERα mRNA relative level would increase and achieve the peak level at blastocyst stage.The location of immunocytochemistry showed that ERα immunopositive cells could be firstly detected at 8-cell stage,after which they are consistently detected until blastocyst stage.In addition,the intensity of ERα positive staining was higher at blastocyst stage compared with that at 8-cell stage and morula stage.Conclusion:ERα is expressed in preimplantation mice embryos in a temporal and spatial pattern and may be involved in regulating the development of early mice embryos,which probably plays crucial roles in early embryonic development.

大鼠内耳胚胎和出生后的组织学研究（英）

The mouse labyrinth is an excellent model for study-ing the morphogenesis and cytodifferentiation of the mam-malian inner ear' s postnatal developmental periods andthe availability of numerous genetic mutants with a variety of inner ear abnormalities. There are many genes affectingthe inner ear of the mouse, and some of these lead to le-sions which resemble lesions occurring in man.

HSF1 is the major heat shock transcription factor that binds heat shock element (HSE) in the promoter of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and controls rapid HSP induction in cells subjected to various stresses such as elevated temperature, chemicals, or exposure to toxins. Although at least four members of the vertebrate HSF have been cloned, details of their individual physiological roles remain relatively obscure. To clarify the exact in vivo functions of HSF1 and assess whether HSF1 exhibits redundant or unique roles, we have created homozygous Hsf1-/- mice using standard gene targeting techniques and isolated Hsf1-/- embryonic fibroblasts. Here we demonstrate that heat shock response (HSR) was not attainable in Hsf1-/- embryonic fibroblasts, and this response was required for thermotolerance and protection against heat-induced apoptosis, and that homozygous Hsf1-/- mice, which survived to adulthood according to genetic background, exhibited multiple phenotypes including: (1) placental defects that reduced embryonic viability after late midgestation (day 13.5); (2) growth retardation; (3) female infertility caused by preimplantation lethality, and (4) increased mortality (+/+ vs -/-, P＜0.05) and exaggerated production of proinflammatory cytokine, TNF α (+/-　vs -/-, P＜0.05) after endotoxin challenge. Interestingly, although Hsf1-/- mice exhibited placental defects and embryonic death, basal HSP expression is not appreciably altered during embryonic development by the HSF1 null mutation, suggesting this factor might be involved in regulating some non-HSP genes or signaling pathways which may be important for development. Taken together, our results established direct causal effects for the HSF1 transactivator in regulating diverse physiological and pathophysiological conditions such as developnent, growth, reproduction, apoptosis and sepsis. The present work also provided a useful mammalian model for further investigating the implications of Hsf1 and its target genes (HSPs and other possible non-HSP genes) in various physiological and pathophysiological processes.