Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effect of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on the development and apoptosis of mouse early blastocyst either cultured continuously at 37 ℃ or treated with heat shock at 41 ℃ for 2 hours. Methods A total of 150 female Kunming mice were used. The early blastocysts were cultured continuously at 37 ℃ or subjected to heat shock for 2 hours at 41 ℃ while being cultured with or without 10μg/L BDNF. The development of early blastocysts was recorded. The TUNEL reaction and Hoechst 33342 method were used to observe the apoptosis cells of blastocysts. The Caspase-9 activity of mouse blastocyst was analysed by fluorescent technique. Results Treatment with BDNF at 37 ℃ promoted the development of early blastocysts. The normal developmental blastocyst cells were increased while apoptosis cells and Caspase-9 activities were decreased in early blastocyst in BDNF treatment group. The development of early blastocyst was inhibited in heat shock treatment group, and TUNEL positive cells number and Caspase-9 activities were increased. There were normal developmental blastocyst in 10μg/L BDNF treatment group. Conclusion Our findings suggest that BDNF signaling plays important roles during mouse early blastocyst development, blastocyst cell numbers, blastocyst apoptosis and the Caspase-9 activity.

Key words: Brain derived neurotrophic factor, Blastocyst, TUNEL method, Fluorescent technique, Mouse