Fertilisation of trilaminar embryo Flashcards
in fertilisation, what is released from sperms head and why?
acrosomal enzymes, to help and allow sperm to penetrate through zona pellicuda
what are cortical granules?
secretory vesicles poised at the cortex of an egg that, upon stimulation by sperm contact at fertilization, secrete their contents. These contents modify the extracellular environment and block additional sperm from reaching the egg. (caused to release by sperm penetration which then hardens zona pellicuda so no polybinding of sperm)
what does sperm bind to in zona pellicuda?
zona pellucida glycoprotein (ZP3) = one of the 4 types of gylcoproteins
where does fertilisation occur?
in ampulla, the widest part of fallopian tube
what is zona pellicuda?
specialised extracellular matrix that surrounds oocyte - means “transparent zone” - and it hardens a little bit into matrix to offer protection
what are blastomeres?
when the fertilised egg had undergone mitotic division to form small identical daughter cells (in cleavage stage)
when does cleavage stage start?
when zygote split into 2 cells, it continues to undergo mitotic division forming blastomeres
what does totipotent mean?
those cells that are able to develop into any of cells in body and any cells related to embryo like placenta etc (different from pluripotent which is where it makes any cell in the body)
what are blastomeres thought to be, up to the 8 cell stage?
totipotent
whats mosaicism?
when someone has 2 genetically different cell lines (different chromosomal complement) (you’re supposed to have all identical)
how does mitotic non-disjunction relate to trisomy 21 and what affect does mosaicism have on it?
mitotic non-disjunction is the mitotic problem whihc results in a daughter cell having an extra chromosme.
-Can occur in early division of the zygote.
→In a zygote already with Trisomy 21.
→Some cells will have a normal complement of cells and some with Trisomy.
→Therefore they will show less prominent features.
basically some cells in body have typical chromosome for trisomy 21 (extra chromosome) but some of them might be normal, depending on where mosaicism has happened so some individuals can have little to no characteristics of trisomy 21 even if genetic problem
when does embryo become a morula?
when 16+ blastomeres - morula is solid mass of blastomeres as a result of lots of cleavages
why do blastomeres in morula have such close contact?
because they’re still contained in zona pellucida so they maximise space and form cell junctions
when is embryo called a blastocyst?
when fluid moves into the cell making obvious blastocyst cavity
whats embryoblast?
inner cell mass that moves to embryonic pole in blastocyst
whats trophoblast?
outer layer (flattened epithelial wall) of blastocyst that provides nutrients and eventually makes foetal part of placenta
what must happen with embryo blastocyst to allow implantation?
zona pellucida must be away as its a hardened ring so prevents growth. embryo bursts through zona pellucida through series of contractions and releases (quite forceful). once out envelope it can now interact with endometrial lining to implant
what envades through endometrial lining?
trophoblast
where does implantation usually occur?
posterior uterine wall (sometimes anterior)
what is corpus luteum?
-endocrine gland
-they form in ovary just as egg is released
-if egg not fertilised after around 2 weeks they degenerate and leave scars on ovary
-if fertilised then feedback loop occurs to stay in place to keep providing progesterone until around 12 weeks when placenta takes over progesterone production
-they’re produced by females once a month and extremely important for pregnancy as produce progesterone which maintains endometrial lining
what day roughly does trophoblast divide and what does it divide into?
roughly day 7.5 is when bilaminar embry formed and trophoblast divides into 1. cytotrophoblast and 2. syncitiotrophoblast
what is syncitiotrophoblast?
single multinucleated cell - one that pushes through endometrial lining to invade uterine wall