The Fertilization-Induced Zinc Spark Is A Novel Biomarker Of Mouse Embryo Quality And Early Development
Upon activation, mammalian eggs release billions of zinc ions in an exocytotic event termed the “zinc spark.” The zinc spark is dependent on and occurs coordinately with intracellular calcium transients, which are tightly associated with embryonic development. Thus, it was hypothesized that the zinc spark represents an early extracellular physicochemical marker of the developmental potential of the zygote. To test this hypothesis, it was monitored that zinc exocytosis in individual mouse eggs following parthenogenetic activation or in vitro fertilization (IVF) and tracked their development. Retrospective analysis of zinc spark profiles revealed that parthenotes and zygotes that developed into blastocysts released more zinc than those that failed to develop. Prospective selection of embryos based on their zinc spark profile significantly improved developmental outcomes and more than doubled the percentage of embryos that reached the blastocyst stage. Moreover, the zinc spark profile was also associated with embryo quality as the total cell number in the resulting morulae and blastocysts positively correlated with the zinc spark amplitude (R = 0.9209). Zinc sparks can thus serve as an early biomarker of zygote quality in mouse model.
Source: The fertilization-induced zinc spark is a novel biomarker of mouse embryo quality and early development. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298914031_The_fertilization induced_zinc_spark_is_a_novel_biomarker_of_mouse_embryo_quality_and_early_development .