Zygote
- Zygote / Volume 1 / Issue 03 / August 1993, pp 225-229
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0967199400001507 (About DOI), Published online: 26 September 2008
Review Article
Effect of zinc and copper on preimplantation mouse embryo development in vitro and metallothionein levels
Francesca Vidala11 and Juan Hidalgoa1 c12
a1 Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
The effect of zinc and copper on the in vitro development of mouse preimplantation embryos and on metallothionein (MT) levels was studied by exposing the embryos to 100 μM concentrations of the metals for 24 h at the 1-cell,2-cell, 6-8-cell, morula and blastocyst stages. Zinc affected embryo development in the early but not in the late stages, whereas copper affected it more generally. The combined presence of both metals caused a stronger embryotoxicity. MT levels were measured by radioimmunoassay and were found to be similar at all developmental stages, though possibly higher at the blastocyst stage. The exposure of embryos to zinc and copper increased MT levels significantly only at the blastocyst stage, supporting previously published results on MT mRNA levels.
Keywords
Correspondence:
c1 Juan Hidalgo, Departamento de Biologia Celular y Fisiologia, Unidad de Fisiologia Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193, Barcelona, Spain. Fax: (3) 581 22 95.
Footnotes
1 Unidad de Biologia celular, Departmento de Biologia Celular y Fisiologia, Faculted de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain.
2 Unidad de Fisiologia Animal, Departamento de Biologia Celular y Fisiologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain.
