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Vertebrate reproductive science and technology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

IVMBIX-01294, an inhibitor of the histone methyltransferase EHMT2, disrupts histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) dimethylation in the cleavage-stage porcine embryo

Ki-Eun Park A , Christine M. Johnson A and Ryan A. Cabot A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.

B Corresponding author. Email: rcabot@purdue.edu

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 24(6) 813-821 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD11205
Submitted: 17 August 2011  Accepted: 3 December 2011   Published: 31 January 2012

Abstract

Global patterns of histone methylation are remodelled during cleavage development. Of the five histone methyltransferases known to mediate methylation of the lysine 9 residue of histone H3 (H3K9), euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2 (EHMT2; also known as G9a) has been shown to be a primary mediator of H3K9 dimethylation; BIX-01294 has been shown to be a specific inhibitor of EHMT2. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of BIX-01294 treatment on global H3K9 dimethylation in porcine embryos. We hypothesised that inhibition of EHMT2 by BIX-01294 would result in reduced levels of H3K9 dimethylation and compromised embryo development. Our results showed that incubation in 5 µM BIX-01294 markedly reduced global levels of H3K9 dimethylation at the pronuclear, 2-cell and 4-cell stages of development and resulted in developmental arrest before blastocyst formation. Although transient exposure of embryos to BIX-01294 did not alter in vitro development, embryos transiently exposed to BIX-01294 did not establish pregnancy. These data demonstrate that BIX-01294 is a potent inhibitor of H3K9 dimethylation and that transient alterations in global histone modifications can have profound effects on embryo developmental potential.

Additional keywords: embryo transfer, epigenetics, G9a.


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