Figure 6

Diabetes adversely affects ER redistribution during early embryo development. Fertilized one-cell and two-cell stage embryos collected from control and diabetic mice were labeled with ER Tracker Green to visualize ER localization. ER distribution patterns were evaluated using fluorescence microscopy. A, in one-cell stage embryos, two distinct patterns of ER distribution were detected: perinuclear distribution, and larger areas of fluorescence deeper within the cytoplasm (i), homogeneous distribution pattern (ii); B, in two-cell oocytes, three different distribution patterns of ER were identified: perinuclear distribution pattern (i), homogeneous distribution (ii), and large aggregates of ER (iii). C and D, quantification of one-cell and two-cell stage embryos from each ER pattern of control and diabetic mice (n =30 for each group). Data are presented as mean ± SEM from three independent experiments. *, P < 0.05 vs. controls. Bar = 20 μm.