RNA-binding protein IGF2BP2/IMP2 is a critical maternal-activator in early zygotic genome activation.

Imp2 is RNA-binding maternal factor that is directly involved in zygotic genome activation. Deletion of Imp2 in mouse embryos causes early embryonic developmental arrest at the 2-cell-stage and that the expression of IMP2 is essential for the early stages of ZGA. Deletion of IMP2 downregulated the expression of Ccar1 and Rps14, both of which are required for early embryonic developmental competence, whereas the addition of IGF2 to the culture media improved the embryonic developmental potential of wild-type embryos in mice and increased the number of embryos reaching the blastocyst stage in humans.