| First Author | Kabir N | Year | 1996 |
| Journal | J Exp Zool | Volume | 274 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 101-10 |
| PubMed ID | 8742690 | Mgi Jnum | J:31654 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:79140 | Doi | 10.1002/(SICI)1097-010X(19960201)274:2<101::AID-JEZ3>3.0.CO;2-T |
| Citation | Kabir N, et al. (1996) Regulation of preimplantation development of mouse embryos: effects of inhibition of myosin light-chain kinase, a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent enzyme. J Exp Zool 274(2):101-10 |
| abstractText | We have examined the effects of ML-9 and wortmannin, which are, respectively, specific reversible and irreversible inhibitors of myosin light-chain kinase, a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent enzyme, on preimplantation development of the mouse in an attempt to establish a regulatory role for this enzyme in preimplantation development. When late two-cell stage embryos were treated continuously with ML-9 or wortmannin at a concentration of 0, 1, 5, 10, or 15 microM, compaction and formation of the blastocyst were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Stage-specific treatment with ML-9 at 25 microM induced stage-specific responses of embryos after the eight-cell stage during the processes of compaction and cavitation. These morphological responses included aborted compaction, decompaction of compacted embryos, and the inability of embryos to form a cavity. These morphological effects were reversible, but, since cell proliferation was inhibited, the recovered embryos were small. Counting of cells on day 4 of culture, in both continuously treated and stage-specifically treated embryos, showed that the effect of ML-9 on cell proliferation was also dose-dependent. Wortmannin also had stage-specific effects at 15 microM, but these effects were irreversible and were more deleterious than those of ML-9. With neither inhibitor was there any apparent effect at the two-cell or the four-cell stage, although wortmannin inhibited cell division when applied stage-specifically at the four-cell stage. These results indicate that myosin light-chain kinase may be an important enzyme in the first steps of differentiation and in the maintenance of the differentiated state during preimplantation development of the mouse. |
