Effects of lithium chloride on rabbit blastocyst expansion, and accumulation of phosphoinositides and inositol phosphates

The effects of lithium, an inhibitor of the recycling of inositol in the phosphatidylinositol cycle, on rabbit blastocyst growth and metabolism of phosphoinositides were investigated. Day 2 rabbit morulae were first cultured for 2 days in basic culture medium and then transferred to medium containing myo-[2- 3 H]inositol for culture for a further 3 days. At the end of culture, the resulting blastocysts were incubated with LiCl (O, C, S, CO, 20 mmol l -1 ) for 1 h. The blastocysts were then lysed and both the aqueous and lipid portions were analysed for incorporated radioactivity. Thin layer chromatographic separation of the lipid portion indicated that lithium had no significant effect on formation of radiolabelled phosphoinositides