Parental methylome reprogramming in human uniparental blastocysts reveals germline memory transition

Uniparental embryos derived from only the mother (gynogenetic [GG]) or the father (androgenetic [AG]) are unique models for studying genomic imprinting and parental contributions to embryonic development. Human parthenogenetic embryos can be obtained following artificial activation of unfertilized oocytes, but the production of AG embryos by injection of two sperm into one denucleated oocyte leads to an extra centriole, resulting in multipolar spindles, abnormal cell division, and developmental defects. Here, we improved androgenote production by transferring the male pronucleus from one zygote into another haploid androgenote to prevent extra centrioles and successfully generated human diploid AG embryos capable of developing into blastocysts with an identifiable inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE). The GG embryos were also generated. The zygotic genome was successfully activated in both the AG and GG embryos. DNA methylome analysis showed that the GG blastocysts partially retain the oocyte transcription-dependent methylation pattern, whereas the AG blastocyst methylome showed more extensive demethylation. The methylation states of most known imprinted differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were recapitulated in the AG and GG blastocysts. Novel candidate imprinted DMRs were also identified. The production of uniparental human embryos followed by transcriptome and methylome analysis is valuable for identifying parental contributions and epigenome memory transitions during early human development.

Automated summary

Research on the production of uniparental human embryos has led to the successful generation of human diploid AG embryos capable of developing into blastocysts with an identifiable inner cell mass and trophectoderm, as well as GG embryos. DNA methylome analysis showed differences in methylation patterns between GG and AG embryos, with GG blastocysts partially retaining the oocyte transcription-dependent methylation pattern while AG blastocysts exhibited more extensive demethylation. The study also identified new candidate imprinted differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in the embryos.