The maternal environment: influence on early mammalian development

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The first stages of embryonic development are the most critical for viability and growth of the fetus. Progress in defining culture conditions for early mammalian embryos has been steady over the past 40 years. Despite this progress current culture systems are still sub-optimal and cultured embryos have a reduced pregnancy rate following embryo transfer, and are prone to metabolic and growth disorders. The solution for these concerns is to increase our understanding of how the external environment influences early development. The research in this proposal is a continuation of a long-term study that is directed towards understanding the role of the maternal and culture environments in regulating early mammalian development. The overall objective is to investigate the roles of CCN proteins during early embryonic development. The CCN proteins are newly discovered factors that play important roles in regulating cell proliferation, cell death, and cell to cell adhesion. They are thought to interact with cell surface adhesion molecules called integrins. No studies have investigated the expression of CCN proteins within the oviduct or preimplantation embryo. Our preliminary data indicates their presence in the oviduct and expression by the early embryo which supports the likelihood of CCN/integrin mediated signaling in regulating the earliest developmental events. It is for these reasons that we will focus our studies on defining the expression and function of oviduct and embryonic CCN proteins in regulating early development. This research will uncover new information regarding the regulation of early development. This information is required to understand the effects of environmental mediators on embryonic development and to reveal the functional roles of the CCNs during development.