Intracellular pH of the mouse preimplantation embryo: Amino acids act as buffers of intracellular pH

Abstract

The inclusion of specific amino acids in conventional culture media has been shown to enhance mammalian embryo development in vitro. Amino acids have been shown to confer their benefits to the preimplantation embryo in a number of different ways. However, their ability to buffer intracellular pH (pH(i)) has not been investigated. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine if amino acids regulate pH(i) in the mouse preimplantation embryo, pH(i) was determined using carboxy-seminaphthorhodafluor-1 (SNARF-1) and confocal microscopy. Incubation with 5,5-dimethyl-2,4-oxazol-idinedione (DMO), a non-metabolizable weak acid, resulted in a significant intracellular acidification in the zygote, 2-, ..