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. 2021 May 18;22(10):5327. doi: 10.3390/ijms22105327

Figure 5.

Figure 5

Constitutive expression of TERT enhances embryo implantation potential and inner cell mass (ICM)-related genes. (A) The effects of D-galactose and TERT on blastocyst implantation potential were determined via invasion assay. Bright-field image showing the area of invasion and DAPI for migrant cells in day-8 blastocysts. Image J software (National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA) was used to quantify the signal intensity of immunofluorescent images. The invaded area and cellular migration were significantly lower in the D-galactose-treated group than the control and TERT-treated groups and Bar = 100 µm.(B) CDX-2 gene related to embryo implantation and invasion of maternal uterine tissue was analyzed via RT-qPCR. (C) Inner Cell Mass (ICM) related genes like OCT-4 and SOX-2 were analyzed to check the embryo quality. The results showed that both the genes were significantly reduced with D-galactose treatment compared to control TERT plasmid injection. The experiments were repeated 3 times, and the data are shown here as the mean ± S.E.M. * = p < 0.05, and ** = p < 0.01.