Abstract
Vol.18 No.1
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E-cadherin Localization in Mouse Embryos Cultured in an Oviductal Environment
JMOR, 18(1) 14-19, 2001
DOI: 10.1274/jmor.18.14
DOI: 10.1274/jmor.18.14
One-cell mouse embryos were cultured in the presence or absence of oviductal tissue in order to in-vestigate the role of oviductal tissue on the developmental competence and morphology of mouse embryos cultured in vitro. To synchronize embryo development, one-cell embryos were treated with nocodazole, an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization. The morphology of 4-cell stage embryos that subsequently developed in the absence of oviduct (phosphate-free medium) differed markedly from that of 4-cell stage embryos developed in an oviductal environment. Four-cell embryos that developed without oviductal tissue had spherical blastomeres whereas embryos developed in coculture had flattened blastomeres and appeared to have undergone premature compaction. Embryos with flat-tened blastomeres exhibited E-cadherin localization to regions of cell-to-cell contact.
