Blastomere biopsy of cleaving embryos affects hepatic transcriptome of adult mouse offspring

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis is commonly offered to couples undergoing assisted reproduction to select healthy embryos to be transferred in utero. The procedure involves the removal of one blastomere from cleaving embryos (known as Blastomere Biopsy – BB) and in vitro culture of biopsied embryos followed by their transfer in utero once the result of PGD confirm their health status. We and others previously reported that male offspring in mice, developed from embryos subjected to BB, is characterized by increased body weight and size. Here we hypothesized that the observed phenotype is due to dysfunction of a key organ in the control/maintenance of metabolic homeostasis: the liver. To this aim, transcriptome analysis was performed on liver tissues collected from 4-months-old mice developed after BB and from not-biopsied control embryos (CTR).