Fig. 1

Effects of luteolin (Lut) on the developmental competence of porcine parthenogenetic activation (PA) embryos. A Representative bright-field images (upper, scale bar = 200 µm) and nuclear-stained images (lower, scale bar = 50 µm) of blastocysts cultured with or without varying concentrations of Lut. B-D Quantification of cleavage rate, blastocyst formation rate, and total cell number in the indicated groups (0; n = 197, 0.05; n = 196, 0.5; n = 195, 5; n = 195). E Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase-Mediated dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) assay of blastocysts in the indicated groups. Embryos were stained for TUNEL (green, indicated by white arrows) and nuclei (blue). Scale bar = 50 µm. F, G Quantification of the number and proportion of apoptotic cells in the indicated groups (n = 42 per group). H Quantitative RT-PCR results for developmental potential and apoptosis-related genes in blastocysts (n = 3 per group). The data are derived from at least three independent experiments, and means with similar superscripts do not differ (P > 0.05)