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Hypoxic regulation of preimplantation embryos: lessons from human embryonic stem cells

Hypoxic regulation of preimplantation embryos: lessons from human embryonic stem cells
Hypoxic regulation of preimplantation embryos: lessons from human embryonic stem cells
Development of the preimplantation embryo is reliant on nutrients present in the milieu of the reproductive tract. While carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, and micronutrients are often considered when discussing preimplantation embryo nutrition, environmental oxygen is frequently overlooked. Although oxygen is not classically considered a nutrient, it is an important component of the in vitro culture environment and a critical regulator of cellular physiology. Oxygen is required to sustain an oxidative metabolism but when oxygen becomes limited, cells mount a physiological response driven by a family of transcription factors termed 'hypoxia inducible factors' which promote expression of a multitude of oxygen sensitive genes. It is this hypoxic response that is responsible not only for the switch to a glycolytic metabolism but also for a plethora of other cellular responses. There has been much debate in recent years over which environmental oxygen tension is preferential for the culture of preimplantation embryos. The review will evaluate this question and highlights how research using human embryonic stem cells can inform our understanding of why culturing under physiological oxygen tensions may be beneficial for the development of embryos generated through clinical in vitro fertilisation.
0022-4251
F41–F51
Houghton, Franchesca D.
53946041-127e-45a8-9edb-bf4b3c23005f
Houghton, Franchesca D.
53946041-127e-45a8-9edb-bf4b3c23005f

Houghton, Franchesca D. (2021) Hypoxic regulation of preimplantation embryos: lessons from human embryonic stem cells. Reproduction, 161 (1), F41–F51. (doi:10.1530/REP-20-0322).

Record type: Review

Abstract

Development of the preimplantation embryo is reliant on nutrients present in the milieu of the reproductive tract. While carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, and micronutrients are often considered when discussing preimplantation embryo nutrition, environmental oxygen is frequently overlooked. Although oxygen is not classically considered a nutrient, it is an important component of the in vitro culture environment and a critical regulator of cellular physiology. Oxygen is required to sustain an oxidative metabolism but when oxygen becomes limited, cells mount a physiological response driven by a family of transcription factors termed 'hypoxia inducible factors' which promote expression of a multitude of oxygen sensitive genes. It is this hypoxic response that is responsible not only for the switch to a glycolytic metabolism but also for a plethora of other cellular responses. There has been much debate in recent years over which environmental oxygen tension is preferential for the culture of preimplantation embryos. The review will evaluate this question and highlights how research using human embryonic stem cells can inform our understanding of why culturing under physiological oxygen tensions may be beneficial for the development of embryos generated through clinical in vitro fertilisation.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 24 November 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 January 2021
Published date: 1 January 2021

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 446182
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/446182
ISSN: 0022-4251
PURE UUID: 42c57823-e4b0-4295-b9cb-2a7bc4a70968
ORCID for Franchesca D. Houghton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5167-1694

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 26 Jan 2021 17:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:05

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