Published 2001
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Accumulation of the proteolytic marker peptide ubiquitin in the trophoblast of mammalian blastocysts.

Creators

  • 1. Charles University in Prague
  • 2. Windows to the Zygote 2000: UNESCO-ICRO International Training Course in Cell and Molecular Biology of Gametes, Fertilization, and Early Embryonic Development. The Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, August 20-31, 2000.
  • 3. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
  • 4. Yale University

Description

Ubiquitination is a universal protein degradation pathway in which the molecules of 8.5-kDa proteolytic peptide ubiquitin are covalently attached to the e-amino group of the substrate's lysine residues. Little is known about the importance of this highly conserved mechanism for protein recycling in mammalian gametogenesis and fertilization. The data obtained by the students and faculty of the international training course Window to the Zygote 2000 demonstrate the accumulation of ubiquitin-cross-reactive structures in the trophoblast, but not in the inner cell mass of the expanding bovine and mouse blastocysts. This observation suggests that a major burst of ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis occurs in the trophoblast of mammalian peri-implantation embryos. This event may be important for the success of blastocyst hatching, differentiation of embryonic stem cells into soma and germ line, and/or implantation in both naturally conceived and reconstructed mammalian embryos.
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