USP7 reduction leads to developmental failure of mouse early embryos

Exp Cell Res. 2023 Apr 18;427(2):113605. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2023.113605. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAs a member of Ubiquitin-specific protease subfamily, ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7) has been reported to participate in a variety of cellular processes, including cell cycle, apoptosis, DNA damage response, and epigenetic modification. However, its function in preimplantation embryos is still obscure. To investigate the functions of USP7 during preimplantation embryo development, we used siRNA to degrade endogenous USP7 messenger RNA. We found that USP7 knockdown significantly decreased the development rate of mouse early embryos. Moreover, depletion of USP7 induced the accumulation of the DNA lesions and apoptotic blastomeres in early embryos. In addition, USP7 knockdown caused an abnormal H3K27me3 modification in 2-cell embryos. Overall, our results indicate that USP7 maintains genome stability perhaps via regulating H3K27me3 and DNA damage, consequently controlling the embryo quality.PMID:37080417 | DOI:10.1016/j.yexcr.2023.113605

Source: Experimental Cell Research - April 20, 2023 Category: Cytology Authors: Xue Zhang Xue-Feng Xie Ang Li Wei Song Chao Li Fei Li Xiao-Zhen Li Xiao-Yan Fan Chang-Yin Zhou Guang Wang Qing-Yuan Sun Xiang-Hong Ou Source Type: research