Effects of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Inhibitor Treatment during the Micromanipulation of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer in Porcine Oocytes

We examined the effects of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inhibitor treatment during the micromanipulation of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) on the development of SCNT embryos. ER stress inhibitors such as salubrinal (200 nM) and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA; 100 μM) were added to the micromanipulation medium and holding medium. The expression of X-box binding protein 1 ( ), ER-stress-associated genes, and apoptotic genes in SCNT embryos was confirmed at the one-cell and blastocyst stages. Levels of splicing and expression of ER-stress-associated genes in SCNT embryos at the one-cell stage decreased significantly with TUDCA treatment (