Donor cell trichostatin A treatment improves the in vitro development of cloned goat embryos

- We investigated effects of TSA in development of cloned goat embryos.
- We optimized appropriate exposure time and concentration of TSA treatment.
- TSA could improve development of cloned goat embryos through donor cell treatment.

The low success rate of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is primarily due to incomplete reprogramming of the transferred nuclei. As an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, trichostatin A (TSA) might promote the reprogramming process and improve cloned embryo development. In the current study, TSA was investigated in terms of its ability to improve the development of cloned goat embryos, and the appropriate exposure time and concentration were also optimized. The results revealed that donor cells treated with 25 nM TSA for 12 h exhibited significantly increased blastocyst development (34.0% vs. 17.6%, p < 0.05) that was accompanied by a moderate increase in the two-cell embryo histone acetylation level and increased blastocyst cell numbers compared to the control group. Donor cells from different individuals were also examined, and consistent results were found in all groups. In conclusion, the treatment of donor cells with TSA improved the development of cloned goat embryos.