Temporal and spatial aspects of fragmentation in early human embryos: possible effects on developmental competence and association with the differential elimination of regulatory proteins from polarized domains

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between blastomere fragmentation in cultured human embryos obtained by in-vitro fertilization and the effect of fragmentation on the distribution of the following eight regulatory proteins found to be: (i) localized in the mature oocyte in subplasmalemmal, polarized domains; and (ii) unequally inherited by the blastomeres during cleavage: leptin, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), Bax, Bcl-x, transforming growth factor beta 2 (TGF beta 2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), c-kit and epidermal growth factor R (EGF-R). Four basic patterns of fragmentation were observed. The severity of the impact of each type of fragmentation on the affected blastomere(s) and the developmental competence of the embryo appeared to be a function of the unique temporal and spatial features associated with the particular fragmentation pattern(s) involved in each instance. The findings demonstrate that certain patterns of fragmentation can result in the partial or near total loss of the eight regulatory proteins from specific blastomeres and that the developmental potential of the affected embryo can be particularly compromised if it occurs during the 1- or 2-cell stages. In contrast, fragmentation from portions of a fertilized egg or a blastomere(s) in a 2-cell embryo that do not contain the protein domains, or the complete loss by fragmentation of a regulatory protein domain-containing blastomere after the 4-cell stage does not necessarily preclude continued development to the blastocyst, although the normality and developmental potential of the embryo may be compromised. The possible association between fragmentation and apoptosis was examined by annexin V staining of plasma membrane phosphatidylserine and TUNEL analysis of blastomere DNA. No direct correlation between fragmentation and apoptosis was found following the analyses of fragmented embryos with these two markers. However, while we suggest that changes in cell physiology unrelated to apoptosis are the more likely causes of fragmentation, we cannot exclude the possibility that fragmentation itself may be an initiator of apoptosis if critical ratios or levels of developmentally important proteins are altered by partial or complete elimination of their polarized domains. The findings are discussed with respect to the possible developmental significance of regulatory protein polarization in human oocytes and preimplantation stage embryos.