Open AccessRNA‐Binding Protein IGF2BP2/IMP2 is a Critical Maternal Activator in Early Zygotic Genome Activation
Author(s) -
Liu HongBin,
Muhammad Tahir,
Guo Yueshuai,
Li MengJing,
Sha QianQian,
Zhang ChuanXin,
Liu Hui,
Zhao ShiGang,
Zhao Han,
Zhang Hao,
Du YanZhi,
Sun Kang,
Liu Kui,
Lu Gang,
Guo XueJiang,
Sha Jiahao,
Fan HengYu,
Gao Fei,
Chen ZiJiang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201900295
Subject(s) - maternal to zygotic transition , zygote , rna , activator (genetics) , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , chemistry , gene , embryogenesis
A number of genes involved in zygotic genome activation (ZGA) have been identified, but the RNA‐binding maternal factors that are directly related to ZGA in mice remain unclear. The present study shows that maternal deletion of Igf 2bp2 (also commonly known as Imp2 ) in mouse embryos causes early embryonic developmental arrest in vitro at the 2‐cell‐stage. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses of 2‐cell‐stage embryos in mice reveal that deletion of IMP2 downregulates the expression of Ccar1 and Rps14 , both of which are required for early embryonic developmental competence. IGF2, a target of IMP2, when added in culture media, increases the proportion of wild‐type embryos that develop successfully to the blastocyst stage: from 29% in untreated controls to 65% (50 × 10 −9 m IGF2). Furthermore, in an experiment related to embryo transfer, foster mothers receiving IGF2‐treated embryos deliver more pups per female than females who receive untreated control embryos. In clinically derived human oocytes, the addition of IGF2 to the culture media significantly enhances the proportion of embryos that develop successfully. Collectively, the findings demonstrate that IMP2 is essential for the regulation and activation of genes known to be involved in ZGA and reveal the potential embryonic development‐related utility of IGF2 for animal biotechnology and for assisted reproduction in humans.