High histone crotonylation modification in bovine fibroblasts promotes cell proliferation and the developmental efficiency of preimplantation nuclear transfer embryos

Lysin crotonylation (Kcr), a recently discovered histone acylation modification, is intricately related to gene expression, cell proliferation, maintenance of stem cell pluripotency, and regulation of various biological processes, symbolizing gene transcriptional activity. During cell culture, the introduction of exogenous croconic acid disodium salt (Nacr) has been shown to modulate intracellular Kcr levels. While research on Kcr has proliferated, its role in cell growth and proliferation and potential regulatory mechanisms remains elusive compared to histone methylation and acetylation. Our investigation indicated that addition of 5 mM Nacr to cultured bovine fibroblasts improved the expression of genes associated with Kcr modification, ultimately promoting cell growth and stimulating cell proliferation. Donor cells cultured in 5 mM Nacr resulted in 38.1% blastocyst development of somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos, which was significantly higher than the control group (25.2%). This study is of great significance to reveal the crotonylation modification mechanism in fibroblast proliferation, so as to enhance the efficiency of somatic cell transfer.