COCULTURE CELLS THAT EXPRESS LEUKEMIA INHIBITORY FACTOR (LIF) ENHANCEMOUSE BLASTOCYST DEVELOPMENT IN-VITRO

Purpose: Leukemia inhibitory factor is a cytokine that plays an import ant role in implantation and enhances mouse preimplantation embryo dev elopment in vitro. Since leukemia inhibitory factor enhances early emb ryo development, we tested the hypothesis that coculture cells that ex press leukemia inhibitory factor would enhance mouse blastocyst develo pment in vitro. In this study, Northern analysis for leukemia inhibito ry factor was performed an total RNA extracted from Vero cells, human embryonic fibroblasts, and human placental fibroblasts. Methods: Two-c ell mouse embryos were cultured to blastocyst in Ham's F-10 with 15% h uman cord serum (control) or with the coculture cells. Northern analys is demonstrated expression of LIF mRNA in Vero cells and embryonic fib roblasts bur not in placental fibroblasts. Development to blastocyst w as significantly enhanced in two-cell embryos cultured with Vero cells (86%, 140/163) and embryonic fibroblasts (83%, 118/142) when compared to controls (71%, 67/94, P < 0.05) or placental fibroblasts (71%, 95/ 134), P < 0.05). Conclusion: These data suggest that coculture cells t hat express leukemia inhibitory factor may be superior to nonleukemia inhibitory factor expressing cells for early preimplantation embryo de velopment.