120 EFFECT OF INDIVIDUAL CULTURE SYSTEM USING WOW OR CELL-TAK ON DEVELOPMENT OF IN VITRO-PRODUCED BOVINE EMBRYOS

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
S. Matoba ◽  
P. Lonergan

The culture of embryos individually in vitro is generally associated with poorer developmental rates. However, the ability to do this successfully would greatly facilitate studies where identification of individual embryos, or the embryos from a particular donor, is necessary. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of culture system on the development of individual IVP bovine embryos. Presumptive zygotes (n = 1301, 6 replicates), produced by IVM/IVF, were used. The aim of Experiment 1 was to compare development of bovine embryos in SOF or CR1aa supplemented with 5% FCS. Zygotes were cultured in droplets under oil as follows: (i) 20/25 μL, (ii) 20/100 μL or (iii) 20/100 μL individually in the Well of the Well (WOW) system (Vajta et al. 2000 Mol. Reprod. Dev. 55, 254–264). Twenty WOW were prepared in a 100 μL droplet of medium under oil using a sterile rod. The aim of Experiment 2 was to compare development of embryos cultured in groups but individually identifiable on the cell adhesive Cell-Tak (Stokes et al. 2005 Dev. Biol. 284, 62–71) or in the WOW system. Zygotes were cultured as follows: (i) 20/20 μL, (ii) 20/20 μL with Cell-Tak, (iii) 20/100 μL with Cell-Tak or (iv) 20/100 μL in WOW. A drop of Cell-Tak (1 μL/20 μL medium) was placed on the base of the dish, dried for 20 min, washed with sterile water and dried completely. Once dried, the area was covered with 10 μL of FCS-free medium and groups of 20 zygotes were placed on the Cell-Tak in a 5 × 4 grid formation a maximum of 160 μm apart. Then, an additional 10 μL or 90 μL medium supplemented with FCS was added to give a final volume of 20 or 100 μL. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were assessed on Day 2 and Days 7–9, respectively. Data (means ± SE) were analyzed by one way ANOVA. In Experiment 1, there were no differences between SOF and CR1aa with respect to culture of embryos individually in WOW (P > 0.05); therefore, SOF was used as the basal medium for Experiment 2. There were no differences (P > 0.05) between the cleavage and blastocyst rate among drop sizes and individual culture systems; individual culture, irrespective of the system used (Cell-Tak or WOW), resulted in the similar developmental rates to the control. In conclusion, individual embryo culture offers the opportunity to study embryo development in a more powerful manner. Furthermore, the use of the cell adhesive Cell-Tak may be more practical because it removes the potential variability associated with well dimensions in the WOW system and may improve any potential paracrine effects during embryo culture. Further studies are required to establish the viability of such embryos after transfer. Table 1.Effect of individual culture system on development of IVP bovine embryos Supported by Science Foundation Ireland.

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
R. Nishii ◽  
K. Imai ◽  
H. Koyama ◽  
O. Dochi

An individual in vitro culture system for bovine embryo needs to be developed for the study of embryo developmental competence. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of individual culture systems on the development of in vitro-matured–in vitro-fertilized bovine embryos. Two individual culture systems were compared. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) were collected by aspiration of ovarian follicles (diameter, 2 to 5 mm) obtained from a local abattoir. The COC were matured in TCM-199 supplemented with 5% calf serum and 0.02 AU mL–1 of FSH. Groups of 20 COC were incubated in 100-μL droplets of IVM media at 38.5°C under an atmosphere of 5% CO2 for 20 h. After 18 h of gamete co-culture (3 × 106 sperm mL–1), the presumptive zygotes were cultured in CR1aa medium supplemented with 5% calf serum at 38.5°C under an atmosphere of 5% CO2, 5% O2 and 90% N2 for 9 days (fertilization = Day 0). The presumptive zygotes were randomly assigned to 1 of the following 3 treatments: single culture (1 zygote was cultured in a 5-μL droplet), well-of-the-well (WOW; Sugimura et al. 2010 Biol. Reprod. 83, 970–978) culture (25 zygotes were cultured individually in each 125-μL droplet) and control culture (25 zygotes were cultured in a 125-μL droplet). Embryo development was evaluated for cleavage and blastocyst rates, on Day 2 and Day 7 to 9 after IVF, respectively. The rates of development up to the blastocyst stage and total cell number in the blastocysts, determined by an air-drying method, were investigated. The cleavage and blastocyst rates were analysed by the chi-square test and the total cell numbers were analysed by ANOVA. The cleavage rates were significantly higher in the control and WOW groups than in the single-culture group (P < 0.01) and the blastocyst rates were significantly lower in the single-culture group than in the control culture group (P < 0.05; Table 1). The total cell numbers (mean ± s.d.) of blastocysts did not significantly differ between the single culture (154.6 ± 21.8), control culture (155.2 ± 22.5) and WOW culture (159.8 ± 27.0) groups. These results indicate that although the blastocyst rate was lower in the single-culture system than in the WOW or group culture system, in vitro-matured–in vitro-fertilized bovine embryos can be cultured using the single-culture system. Moreover, the quality of blastocysts developed by the single-culture system is the same as that of blastocysts developed using the other 2 culture systems. Table 1.Effect of different culture methods for bovine embryo development


Author(s):  
Kelly Annes ◽  
Carlos Alexandre Soares ◽  
Camila Bruna De Lima ◽  
Marcella Pecora Milazzotto

Estabeleceu-se um protocolo novo e eficaz de cultivo individual de embriões bovinos sem o uso de cocultivo e sem compartilhamento de meio visando à análise do metabolismo individual do embrião. Para isso, embriões foram produzidos in vitro por protocolos convencionais em três diferentes tipos de meio: KSOM, SOFaa e KSOM seguido por SOFaa no dia 2. Os zigotos presumíveis foram divididos em seis grupos: controles (cultivo em grupo – C-KSOM, C-SOFaa e C-KS) e sistema de poços individuais (W-KSOM, W-SOFaa e W-KS). As taxas de clivagem foram avaliadas nos dias 2 e 7, respectivamente. Além disso, a quantificação relativa de transcritos relacionados a importantes processos metabólicos (GLUT1, GLUT3, GSK3, SOD1, HSPD1 e G6PD) foi avaliada nos blastocistos dos grupos C-KS e W-KS. Os resultados mostram que as taxas de clivagem foram maiores apenas no grupo W-KSOM quando comparado ao grupo C-KSOM, enquanto a taxa de blastocistos diferiu apenas entre os grupos C e W-SOF. Além disso, a análise da expressão gênica mostrou que blastocistos cultivados em grupo ou em sistema de poços individuais são semelhantes quanto à expressão gênica. Assim, a conclusão obtida foi que o sistema individual proposto pode ser utilizado como um protocolo alternativo eficiente para o cultivo individual de embriões de bovino, uma vez que suas características permanecem semelhantes àquelas do sistema convencional de produção de embriões.


2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 221 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.R.B. Mello ◽  
C.E. Ferguson ◽  
A.S. Lima ◽  
M.B. Wheeler

In vitro embryo culture is an important step of in vitro production of bovine embryos. It has been shown that IVF-derived bovine embryos cultured in KSOM or CR1aa have high development rates. In our laboratory, we have observed that 8-cell embryos are morphologically superior when embryos are cultured in KSOM whereas blastocysts are morphologically superior when embryos are cultured in CR1aa. Based on these observations, we hypothesized that development of IVF-derived bovine embryos can be improved by sequential use of these media (KSOM and CR1aa). The aim of this experiment was to compare the in vitro development of bovine embryos cultured in KSOM, CR1aa or KSOM/CR1aa supplemented with BSA at Day 0 and BSA and FBS at Day 3. In order to accomplish the sequential culture, fertilized oocytes where cultured in KSOM to the 8-cell stage and then transferred to CR1aa for further development. Oocytes were purchased from Bomed (Madison, WI, USA), and after 22 hours of maturation were fertilized with frozen-thawed semen for 5 hours at 39°C in 5% CO2. After fertilization, the presumptive zygotes were denuded from cumulus cells by votexing and were randomly allotted to one of 3 treatments: (1) cultured only in KSOM (n = 110), (2) cultured only in CR1aa (n = 102), and (3) cultured in KSOM in the first 3 days and then in CR1aa from Day 3 to Day 9 (n = 110). The embryo culture was carried out in 50-μL droplets of medium that were placed in an airtight modular incubator filled with 5% CO2, 5% O2 and 90% N2. The embryos were evaluated on Days 6 to 9 post insemination. All embryo developmental rates were calculated from presumptive zygotes. The Day 6 morula rates were 52%, 40%, and 47% for KSOM, CR1aa, and KSOM/CR1aa, respectively. The Day 7 blastocyst rates for KSOM (40%), CR1aa (25%), and KSOM/CR1aa (30%) were not significantly different; however, Day 9 hatched blastocyst rates were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for KSOM (22%) compared to CR1aa (9%) but not different from KSOM/CR1aa (14%). Regarding embryo quality, Day 7 transferable embryos rates (Grade 1 and Grade 2) were 35%, 25%, and 30%, respectively for KSOM, CR1aa, and KSOM/CR1aa; however, no significant difference was observed. These results indicate that IVF-derived bovine embryos can develop in KSOM, CR1aa, or KSOM/CR1aa with no significant difference among morula, blastocyst and hatched blastocyst rates. However, the combination of KSOM and CR1aa during in vitro culture did not decrease the morula and blastocyst rates.


2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-128
Author(s):  
Sabine Wohlres-Viana ◽  
Mariana Cortes Boite ◽  
João Henrique Moreira Viana ◽  
Marco Antonio Machado ◽  
Luiz Sérgio de Almeida Camargo

The objectives of this work were to identify and to evaluate possible differences on gene expression of aquaporins and Na/K-ATPases transcripts between embryos in vivo and in vitro produced. For each group, 15 blastocysts distributed in three pools were used for RNA extraction followed by amplification and reverse transcription. The resulting cDNAs were submitted to Real-Time PCR, using the GAPDH gene as endogenous control. It was not possible to identify AQP1 transcripts. Relative expression of AQP3 (1.33 ± 0.78) and AQP11 (2.00 ± 1.42) were not different in blastocysts in vitro and in vivo produced. Na/K-ATPase α1 gene (2.25 ± 1.07) was overregulated whereas Na/K-ATPase β2 transcripts 0.40 ± 0.30) did not differ among blastocysts produced in vitro from those produced in vivo. Transcripts for gene AQP1 are not present in bovine blastocysts. In vitro culture system does not alter expression of genes AQP3, AQP11 and Na/K-ATPase β2 genes, however, it affects expression of Na/K-ATPase α1.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Mestres ◽  
Q Matia-Algué ◽  
A Villamar ◽  
M García-Jiménez ◽  
A Casals ◽  
...  

Abstract Study question Do commercial mineral oil brands differ in their capacity to stabilize the human embryo culture system, and is this related to the oil’s viscosity? Summary answer While the oils’ viscosity only had minor effects on temperature maintenance, it showed a direct correlation with the stability of pH and osmolality during culture. What is known already Mineral oil is a key component of the in vitro embryo culture system, which stabilizes temperature, pH and osmolality of the media during culture. Its use has been implemented worldwide for several decades and many manufacturers currently produce and commercialize oil intended for human embryo culture. Unfortunately, oil remains as one of the less characterized products in the IVF laboratory due to a lack of standardized nomenclature, production and testing. With differing physico-chemical properties, such as viscosity, oils produced by various manufacturers could behave differently to the same culture conditions and, thus, its use may need to be adjusted accordingly. Study design, size, duration Viscosity was quantified in three high-viscosity (H-V) and three low-viscosity (L-V) oils with a viscosity-meter. The required time for media’s pH to equilibrate using each oil was studied, as well as its subsequent stability outside the incubator for 30min. In-drop temperature was assessed during 15min when taking a dish outside the incubator, and again when putting it back. Additionally, each oil’s capacity to avoid media evaporation was studied with daily osmolality measurements during 7 days. Participants/materials, setting, methods pH equilibration was measured with a continuous pHmeter (Log&Guard, Vitrolife) in 4-well dishes prepared with 600µl of medium and 500µl of oil. For the other experiments, 35mm dishes with 4ml of oil and 20µl media droplets were used. pH stability was assessed after 0, 15 and 30min outside the incubator with a blood-gas-analyzer (epoc,SiemensHelthineers). A fine-gauge thermocouple was used to measure in-drop temperature loss/recovery. Daily osmolality readings were taken with a vapor pressure osmometer (Vapro5600,Wescor). Main results and the role of chance The selected oil samples had a viscosity of 115, 111, 52, 22, 18, and 12cP. The medium’s pH took approximately 12h to completely equilibrate under H-V oils, while it took less than 4h in L-V. Similarly, the rise in pH after 30min on a heated stage outside of the incubator with room atmosphere was 0.03, 0.04, 0.06, 0.13, 0.17, and 0.26, respectively. Dishes were taken out of the incubator and placed on a heated surface. In the first five minutes, the in-drop temperature loss ranged between –0.22 and –0.13oC/min, with no significant differences observed between oil types. However, temperature plateaued at a significantly higher value in L-V oils (36.5oC), compared to H-V brands (36.25–36.1oC; p = 0.0005). By contrast, all samples followed a similar pattern when the dishes were returned to the benchtop incubator, with temperature taking around 7 minutes to completely recover. Some media evaporated in all oil groups during the 7-day culture in a dry benchtop incubator. The linear regression performed to compare the evaporation rate between groups showed a statistically significant correlation between oil viscosity and the rate of evaporation (p &lt; 0.0001), with an osmolality rise ranging between +2.55mmol/kg/day in the most viscous oil and +6.29mmol/kg/day in the least viscous. Limitations, reasons for caution While the selected oils for this study represent a wide range of options in the market, future projects could widen this selection and include additional tests, such as optimized bioassays. Results may vary between centers, and thus each laboratory should test and optimize their culture system with their own settings. Wider implications of the findings: Different oil brands have shown differing physico-chemical properties that have a direct effect on the culture system and the stability of several culture conditions. These results may be of major importance to adapt the settings and methodologies followed in each IVF laboratory according to the type of oil being used. Trial registration number Not applicable


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
T. Fanti ◽  
N. M. Ortega ◽  
R. Garaguso ◽  
M. J. Franco ◽  
C. Herrera ◽  
...  

In vitro embryo production systems (IVP) try to emulate and enhance molecular events that occur in in vivo reproductive systems in order to increase, not only the number of embryos generated, but also their quality. Despite advances, IVP processes are still inefficient compared with in vivo systems. Several studies have attributed this deficiency to a lack of oocyte competence due to spontaneous premature resumption of meiotic maturation in the oocyte following the removal from its follicular environment. Therefore, our objective was to increase oocyte competence avoiding premature resumption of meiosis by using cyclic adenosine monophosphate modulators. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) were obtained from ovaries of slaughterhouses, washed, and randomly allocated in 2 culture systems. Oocytes in the control group (IVM) were cultured for a period of 24 h in basal medium TCM-199 with EGF (1 µg mL–1) supplemented with rhFSH (25 mIU mL–1). Oocytes in the biphasic in vitro maturation (b-IVM) group were cultured for 2 h in a basal medium supplemented with a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX, 500 µM), and an activator of adenylate cyclase (forskolin, 100 µM). Subsequently, COC were washed and cultured in basal medium supplemented with cilostamide (20 µM) and rhFSH (25 mIU mL–1) for 24 h. Maturation rates were analysed and IVF was performed with a dose of 1 × 106 sperm cells mL–1 in IVF-SOF medium. The presumptive zygotes were cultured in continuous-single-culture medium (Irvine) supplemented with 8 mg mL–1 of BSA until they reached the blastocyst stage. No significant differences in maturation, cleavage, and cryotolerance were observed between b-IVM and IVM groups (P > 0.05; Table 1). This study showed that b-IVM produced a significant increase in IVP compared with the control (IVM) at Days 7 and 8 (P < 0.01). Blastocyst hatching rate was significant (P < 0.05) for both treatment and day of analysis. The b-IVM group yielded an increase of 10 and 7.5% at Days 7 and 8, respectively, of IVP. The biphasic maturation showed an improvement in quality regarding the control group, in the timing analysis of production, and hatching percentages, and these results show that the use of cyclic adenosine monophosphate modulators in the oocyte maturation process enhances oocyte competence, which is reflected in increased productivity and embryo quality. We propose this treatment as an alternative to the standard protocols currently used in IVP of bovine embryos. Table 1.Effect of treatment on maturation, cleavage, and cryotolerance


2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Heidari ◽  
A. Shirazi ◽  
M.-M. Naderi ◽  
M.-M. Akhondi ◽  
H. Hassanpour ◽  
...  

Considering the advent of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a new source of somatic cells in embryo co-culture system, the current study was aimed to compare in vitro embryo development using embryonic MSCs monolayer with embryonic fibroblast cells (EFCs), oviductal epithelial cells (OECs), and cell-free culture system. The IVM/IVF presumptive sheep zygotes were randomly cultured in different culture conditions as follows: (1) SOFaaBSA medium for the whole culture period (SOF, n = 371), (2) SOFaaBSA medium for the first 3 days followed by co-culturing with MSCs for the next 5 days (SOF-MSCs, n = 120), (3) co-culturing with MSCs for the first 3 days followed by culture in SOFaaBSA medium for the next 5 days (MSCs-SOF, n = 133), (4) co-culturing with MSCs for the whole culture period (MSCs, n = 212), (5) SOFaaBSA medium for the first 3 days followed by co-culturing with EFCs for the next 5 days (SOF-EFCs, n = 132), (6) co-culturing with EFCs for the first 3 days followed by culture in SOFaaBSA medium for the next 5 days (EFCs-SOF, n = 165), (7) co-culturing with EFCs for the whole culture period (EFCs, n = 236), and (8) co-culturing with OECs for the whole culture period (OECs, n = 255). One-Way ANOVA by multiple pairwise comparisons using Tukey&rsquo;s test was performed. Co-culturing in MSCs group had no superiority over EFCs and OECs groups. Though, when co-culturing with MSCs and EFCs was limited to the first 3 days of culture, the embryo development indices were improved compared to the other co-cultured groups. Considering both the hatching rate and total cell number, the application of MSCs for the first 3 days of culture (MSCs-SOF) was superior to the other co-culture and SOF groups. &nbsp;


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