Centrioles in the beginning of human development

Abstract

We demonstrate the presence of centrioles in fertilized human oocytes at syngamy. Single or double centrioles within centrosomes were detected by transmission electron microscopy at one pole of the first cleavage spindle in normal and dispermic embryos (25-26 hr after insemination). Sperm centrioles were also closely associated with the male pronucleus (16-20 hr after insemination) in pronuclear stage embryos. A tripolar spindle derived from a tripronuclear embryo is also demonstrated with two centrioles at one pole. The data provide evidence that human centrioles, as those in most other animals, and unlike the mouse, are paternally derived, thus supporting Boveri's classical theory. Furthermore, this study provides insights to the proposed mechanisms of aberrant cleavage patterns of dispermic human embryos.