Telomere length determines the mitochondrial copy number in blastocyst-stage embryos

Yuki Inoue; Sogo Aoki; Jun Ito; Shunsuke Hara; Komei Shirasuna; Hisataka Iwata

doi:10.1016/j.mito.2024.101887

Telomere length determines the mitochondrial copy number in blastocyst-stage embryos

Mitochondrion. 2024 Apr 24:77:101887. doi: 10.1016/j.mito.2024.101887. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yuki Inoue¹, Sogo Aoki¹, Jun Ito¹, Shunsuke Hara¹, Komei Shirasuna¹, Hisataka Iwata²

Affiliations

¹ Tokyo University of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan.
² Tokyo University of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan. Electronic address: h1iwata@nodai.ac.jp.

PMID: 38663837
DOI: 10.1016/j.mito.2024.101887

Abstract

Telomere length (TL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mt-cn) are associated with embryonic development. Here, we investigated the correlation between TL and mt-cn in bovine embryos to determine whether TL regulates mt-cn. TL and mt-cn were closely correlated in embryos derived from six bulls. Treatment of embryos with a telomerase inhibitor (TMPyP) and siTERT shortened the TL and reduced mt-cn in blastocysts. RNA-sequencing of blastocysts developed with TMPyP revealed differentially expressed genes associated with transforming growth factor-β1 signaling and inflammation. In conclusion, TL regulates mt-cn in embryos.

Keywords: Blastocyst; Cow; Mitochondrial DNA copy number; Telomerase; Telomere length.