166 Paracrine Regulation of Epidermal Growth Factor-Like Factors in Oviduct Cells and its Effect on Oocyte Maturation and Subsequent Embryo Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
S. H. Lee ◽  
E. M. N. Setyawan ◽  
B. C. Lee

Progesterone (P4) and progesterone receptor signalling appears essential for maintenance of a proper cumulus cell expansion during the oocyte maturation by regulating the epidermal growth factor-like factors (EGF-F) related pathway during the ovulatory process. It is known that expression of EGF-F including amphiregulin (AREG), epiregulin (EREG), and betacellulin (BTC) is critical for cumulus–oocyte complex (COC) expansion and resumption of meiosis. Therefore, we hypothesised that oviduct cells might be involved in nonexclusive mechanisms of actions of P4 that in turn modulate oocyte meiosis resumption by regulating the levels of EGF-F. First, we added different concentrations of P4 (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 μg mL−1) to oviduct cell culture medium and assessed the effect of P4 on expression of AREG, EREG, and BTC in oviduct cells by immunocytochemical analysis. Then, the oviduct cells were used for co-culturing under the proper concentration of P4 with porcine oocytes. The COC were randomly cultured in 3 groups: (1) culturing without oviduct cells, (2) co-culturing with oviduct cells, and (3) co-culturing with oviduct cells treated with P4. After IVM, extrusion of the 1st polar body was observed under the microscope. To evaluate embryo development competence, the matured oocytes were activated with electrical stimulus and parthenotes were cultured in porcine zygote medium-5 for 7 days at 39°C, 5% CO2 and O2 in a humidified atmosphere. The cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were observed under the microscope to evaluate developmental competence. To count the total cell number of blastocysts, they were stained with 5 μg mL−1 of Hoechst 33342 for 10 min. The data were analysed by one-way ANOVA using GraphPad Prism 5.0 (GraphPad Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). Values are means ± standard error of mean (P < 0.05). Significantly higher levels of EGF-F were observed in oviduct cells treated with 1 μg mL−1 progesterone. The oocyte maturation rate of co-culture group treated with P4 (80.7 ± 1.6%) was significantly higher than that of the control (69.7 ± 2.1%). There was a significant difference between co-culture treated with P4 and the control in cleavage rate (67.2 ± 2.4% and 82.0 ± 1.6%). However, no significant difference was observed between the co-culture groups. The co-culture treated with P4 group showed significantly higher rate of blastocyst formation (37.7 ± 0.8%) and total cell number of blastocyst (72.8 ± 1.0) than control and co-culture groups. In conclusion, co-culturing with oviduct cell treated with P4 improved oocyte maturation and subsequent embryo development. Thus, we suggested that oviduct cells induce the expression of EGF-F under the treatment of P4, which has a beneficial effect on porcine oocyte development. This research was supported by NRF-20142A1021187, Korea IPET (#316002-05-2-SB010), RDA (#PJ010928032017) and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, the BK21 plus program.

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Z. B. Cao ◽  
L. C. Sui ◽  
S. F. Ji ◽  
J. W. Chen ◽  
T. Gui ◽  
...  

The objective of the present study was to examine the feasibility of culturing porcine oocytes and embryos in vitro using the human exhaled lung air atmosphere. In Experiment 1, the effects of lung air atmosphere on nuclear maturation of prepubertal gilt oocytes and subsequent development in vitro of parthenogenetic-activated and somatic-cell-cloned embryos were explored. Abattoir-derived prepubertal gilt cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) were matured in TCM-199 supplemented with 10 IU mL–1 of eCG, 10 IU mL–1 of hCG, 10 ng mL–1 of epidermal growth factor, and 10% porcine follicular fluid (pFF) for 40 to 44 h at 38.5°C, 100% humidity, and 5% CO2+20% O2 (high oxygen tension) or human exhaled air encapsulated in plastic, airtight bags (lung air) or 5% CO2+7% O2 (low oxygen tension) in the incubator. Nuclear maturation was evaluated by the presence of the 1st polar body. For parthenogenetic activation, denuded oocytes with the 1st polar body were selected and stimulated with a single 1.6-kV/cm, 100-μs direct current pulse followed by culture in porcine zygote medium-3. For NT, denuded metaphase II oocytes were enucleated, and then the donor cell was directly injected into the perivitelline space. After NT, reconstructed couplets were fused and activated electrically followed by treatment in 7.5 μg mL–1 of cytochalasin B and 10 μg mL–1 of cycloheximide for 4 to 6 h before culture in porcine zygote medium-3. We found no significant difference among groups in terms of nuclear maturation rate (66.5% v. 60.2%, 63.2%), cleavage rate (94.8% v. 94.2%, 85.2%), blastocyst formation rate (39.5% v. 40.3%, 32.5%), and total cell number (37 v. 38, 32). Moreover, as for porcine cloned embryo, no significant difference between the lung-air and high-oxygen (20% O2) groups was observed in the cleavage rate (88.3% v. 80.3%), blastocyst formation rate (7.3% v. 10.7%), and total cell number (34 v. 36). The above results indicated that porcine oocytes can be matured in vitro safely and efficiently using the human exhaled lung air atmosphere. In Experiment 2, in vitro developmental competence of porcine zona-free parthenogenetically activated embryos cultured in a lung air, low oxygen (5% O2), or high oxygen (20% O2) tension gas environment was studied. We found no obvious difference among the 3 groups regarding the rates of cleavage (83.0%, 83.6%, 82.8%), but blastocyst formation rate (26.8% v. 48.6%, 48.2%) and total cell number (23 v. 34, 29) in lung air were lower than those in the rest of the groups (P < 0.05). The results show that lung air could be an alternative for preparing a gas environment for in vitro culture of porcine zona-free parthenotes, although not an ideal alternative. Taken together, porcine oocytes and embryos can be cultured in vitro safely and efficiently using the human exhaled lung air atmosphere. Z. B. Cao and L. C. Sui contributed equally to this work. X. R. Zhang and Y. H. Zhang are the corresponding authors. This work was supported by NSFC (30700574), 863 (2008AA101003).


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Biswas ◽  
Y.-B. Jeon ◽  
G.-H. Kim ◽  
E.-B. Jeung ◽  
S. H. Hyun

In the present study, pig cumulus–oocyte complexes were cultured in medium supplemented with different concentrations (0, 5, 50, and 500 ng mL–1) of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and then the maturation and intracellular glutathione (GSH) concentration of oocytes were examined. In addition, the development of oocytes matured with different concentrations of VEGF after parthenogenetic activation (PA) or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) was observed. Although the maturation rate of oocytes was not affected by VEGF concentrations (81.13 ± 2.61%, 83.93 ± 1.97%, 82.14 ± 4.03%, 75.24 ± 2.68%, respectively), the intracellular GSH concentrations of oocytes matured with 5 and 50 ng mL–1 VEGF were significantly higher (12.68 ± 0.08, 12.33 ± 0.53 pMol/oocyte, respectively) than those of oocytes matured with 0 or 500 ng mL–1 VEGF (10.19 ± 0.66, 10.54 ± 0.54 pMol/oocyte, respectively). The blastocyst formation rates after PA of oocytes matured with 5 and 50 ng mL–1 VEGF were significantly higher (58.99 ± 4.70% and 54.00 ± 1.09%, respectively) than that of oocytes matured with 0 or 500 ng mL–1 VEGF (30.15 ± 4.52%, 34.79 ± 4.01%, respectively). Total cell number of PA blastocyst after oocytes matured with 5 and 50 ng mL–1 VEGF was significantly higher (83.21 ± 4.89, 78.16 ± 6.15, respectively) than that of control and 500 ng mL–1 VEGF (56.91 ± 4.78, 55.93 ± 3.89, respectively). Similarly, the blastocyst formation rate after SCNT of oocytes matured with 5 ng mL–1 VEGF was significantly higher (14.54 ± 1.42%) than that of oocytes matured without VEGF (7.95 ± 1.44%). Total cell number of SCNT blastocyst after oocytes matured with 5 ng mL–1 VEGF was significantly higher (67.83 ± 6.56) than control (48.09 ± 5.36). Fully cumulus cell expansion was significantly higher in the 5 ng mL–1 VEGF treated group (85.37 ± 0.73%) compared with the control (58.89 ± 0.88%). In conclusion, adding 5 ng mL–1 VEGF during IVM improved the developmental potential of PA and SCNT in porcine embryos by increasing the intracellular GSH level. This work was supported by a grant (#20070301034040) from BioGreen 21 program, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.


2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
J.H. Kim ◽  
G.S. Lee ◽  
H.S. Kim ◽  
S.H. Lee ◽  
D.H. Nam ◽  
...  

Developing a porcine embryo culture system is important for increasing the rates of implantation and pregnancy of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was shown to inhibit glycolytic activity of cleavage stage embryos, thereby preventing the premature stimulation of glycolysis and enhancing development. However, EDTA should not be used for later-stage embryos as the inhibition of glycolysis reduces energy production at the blastocyst stage and significantly inhibits inner cell mass development. On the other hand, addition of a nitric oxide (NO) scavenger, hemoglobin (Hb), to the culture medium is known to promote embryo development to the blastocyst stage. This study was conducted to evaluate the beneficial effect of EDTA combined with Hb on pre-implantation development of porcine embryos in vitro. Porcine embryos produced by in vitro maturation and fertilization were cultured for 6 days in North Carolina State University (NCSU)-23 medium supplemented with EDTA or/and Hb. All data were subjected to one-way ANOVA and protected least significant difference (LSD) test using the general linear models (GLM) procedure of the statistical analysis system (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC, USA) program to determine differences among experimental groups. Statistical significance was determined when the P value was less than 0.05. In Exp. 1, culturing porcine zygotes with 100 mM EDTA (n = 537) significantly increased cleavage rates (85.3%) at 48 h post-insemination compared to supplementing with 0, 1, or 10 mM EDTA (78.9, 79.7, or 78.2%, respectively). However, EDTA at these concentrations did not promote blastocyst formation compared to the control. In addition, no difference was observed in total cell numbers in blastocysts among the experimental groups (41.8, 42.6, 45.8, 44.5, respectively). In Exp. 2, in vitro-fertilized oocytes were cultured with 0, 1, or 10 mg/mL Hb. Culturing with Hb did not promote porcine embryo development, but significantly increased the total cell number of blastocysts obtained from 1 mg/mL Hb supplementation (n = 566) compared to that of the control (56.8 vs. 41.6). In Exp. 3, culturing embryos (n = 548) with 100 mM EDTA + 1 mg/mL Hb significantly improved rates of cleavage (84.0% vs. 75.2%) and blastocyst formation (19.2% vs. 12.7%), and the total number of cells in blastocysts compared to those of the control (58.4 vs. 42.3). In conclusion, our results demonstrated that EDTA or Hb have different roles in supporting in vitro pre-implantation development of porcine embryos; EDTA mainly stimulated early cleavage up to the 2- to 4-cell stage, and Hb promoted the total cell number of blastocysts. However, combined supplementation with these two chemicals improved cleavage, blastocyst formation, and total cell number in blastocysts. This study was supported by a grant from Korea Ministry of Science and Technology (Biodiscovery).


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
M. Takahashi ◽  
K. Nagayama ◽  
M. Sakatani ◽  
S. Kobayashi ◽  
K. Morishita ◽  
...  

We investigated the antioxidative effect of brown algae phlorotannins on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and embryo development of parthenogenetically activated porcine embryos under oxidative and heat-stressed conditions. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were aspirated from follicles on the surface of porcine ovaries collected from an abbattoir. COCs were matured in NCSU-23 containing 10% (v/v) porcine follicular fluid and hCG during the first 22 h, followed by an extra 22 h of culture in hormone-free NCSU-23. After 44 h of maturation, oocytes were denuded of cumulus cells and used for parthenogenetic activation. Oocytes were activated by single 100-�s pulse of 1.5 kV cm-1 DC in 1-mm electrodes. Activated oocytes were cultured for 5 h in NCSU-23 containing BSA, EGF, and 5 �g mL-1 cytochalasin B. Embryos were then cultured for 7 days in PZM-5 medium that was a slightly modified version of the PZM-4 medium reported by Yoshioka et al. (2002 Biol. Reprod. 60, 112–119). In Experiment 1, after parthenogenetic activation, embryos were cultured for 7 days at 38.5�C under 5% O2, 5% CO 2, and 90% N2 (defined as 5% O2) as a control. Embryos were also cultured under 5% CO2 in air (defined as 20% O2) with or without 100 ng mL-1 brown algae phlorotannins extracted from Ecklonia kurome. The number of embryos developed to the blastocyst stage was observed on Day 6. The total cell number of Day 7 blastocysts was counted by DAPI staining of nuclei. On Day 2, intracellular ROS levels of individual embryos were measured with fluorescent dyes (222,722-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate). In Experiment 2, on Day 1 or 2, embryos cultured in 5% O2 concentration at 38.5�C were exposed to 41.5�C for 6 h with or without 100 ng mL-1 phlorotannins and cultured at 38.5�C until Day 7. After 6 h of heat-shock on Day 1 or Day 2, intracellular ROS levels were measured as described in Experiment 1. Statistical analysis was carried out by ANOVA. In Experiment 1, the rate of blastocyst formation and the total cell number were significantly decreased (P &lt; 0.05) when embryos were cultured under 20% O2 compared to 5% O2. In contrast, addition of phlorotannins significantly increased the rate of blastocyst formation under high O2 concentration. ROS levels were also significantly increased by higher O2 concentration. In contrast, addition of phlorotannins significantly reduced the ROS levels. In Experiment 2, heat-shock to embryos on Days 1 and 2 significantly (P &lt; 0.05) decreased the rate of blastocyst formation compared to the control. In contrast, addition of phlorotannins significantly (P &lt; 0.05) increased embryo development and decreased the intracellular ROS levels of heat-stressed embryos. These results indicate that oxidative and heat stress conditions decrease embryo development and increase the level of intracellular ROS. However, addition of phlorotannins promotes embryo development by decreasing the oxidative stress.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. T. K. Do ◽  
V. V. Luu ◽  
Y. Sato ◽  
M. Taniguchi ◽  
T. Otoi

Heat stress can engender various disorders in reproductive functions such as impairment of oocyte maturation, fertilization, and embryonic development. Astaxanthin, an extremely common carotenoid, is a typical fat-soluble antioxidant that scavenges ROS and blocks lipid peroxidation. Moreover, astaxanthin has been shown to improve the development of embryos exposed to heat stress by a reduction in stress-inducible genes. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of astaxanthin supplementation on the meiotic competence, fertilization, and development of porcine oocytes exposed to high temperature (41°C) during maturation culture. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) collected from ovaries were transferred into maturation medium supplemented with astaxanthin (0, 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 ppm) and were then cultured for 46 h at 41°C or 38.5°C. After maturation culture, the COC were subjected to IVF and embryo culture to evaluate the fertility and development of oocytes. The total cell number and DNA fragmentation in the blastocysts were assessed using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling and Hoechst 33342 staining. The total numbers of oocytes matured at 41°C and 38.5°C in each treatment group were 432 to 470 and 426 to 444, respectively. Data were analysed using ANOVA, followed by Fisher's protected least significant difference test. Exposure to elevated temperatures during maturation culture significantly reduced the proportions of oocytes that reached metaphase II. When the COC were cultured in the maturation medium supplemented with 0.5 and 1.0 ppm of astaxanthin under heat stress conditions (41°C), the supplementation of astaxanthin significantly improved the proportions of maturation, fertilization, and blastocyst formation compared with the control group (0 ppm) (50–52%, 45–55%, and 11–12% v. 17, 25, and 6%, respectively). The supplementation of the maturation medium with 0.25 ppm of astaxanthin improved only blastocyst formation (9.6%). Similarly, the supplementation of astaxanthin at 1.0 ppm improved the proportions of maturation, fertilization, and blastocyst formation of oocytes matured at 38.5°C s compared with the control group (67, 57, and 18% v. 48, 33, and 12%, respectively). However, no beneficial effect of astaxanthin supplementation was found in the total cell number or DNA fragmentation in the blastocysts, irrespective of culture temperature. Our findings show that the supplementation of astaxanthin to maturation medium improves maturation, fertilization, and embryo development of porcine oocytes exposed to heat stress during maturation culture.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 237
Author(s):  
R. Poole ◽  
V. McCracken ◽  
M. Rhoads ◽  
K. Lee

Infertility among women has become a growing issue in the world requiring a significant number to seek treatment by means of assisted reproductive technologies. One suggested reason for the fertility issue, which is known to specifically affect oocyte quality, is the modern diet. Previously, we have demonstrated that feeding a high-fructose diet to gilts led to poor reproductive tract characteristics and infertility. In this study, pre-pubescent gilts were fed either a high-fructose; high-fat diet (HFHF), with 15% beef tallow and 35% fructose; or an industry control diet (IND). Porcine follicular fluid (pFF) collected from these gilts was introduced into in vitro maturation systems to determine whether characteristics of the follicular fluid affect oocyte competence and embryo development. Follicles from ovaries, collected at a local abattoir, were aspirated by an 18 G needle attached to a 10-mL sterile syringe. Then selected cumulus‐oocyte complexes were maturated in vitro in a TCM-199 maturation media with cysteine, glucose, sodium pyruvate, epidermal growth factor (EGF), FSH, LH, and 20% pFF from treatment groups. Additionally, another group of oocytes, labelled follicle fluid free (FFF), were maturated in TCM-199 media without pFF. Three replicate experiments were conducted using a total of 365 oocytes, 124 FFF, 121 IND, and 120 HFHF. Oocytes were denuded by exposure to 0.1% hyaluronidase and oocytes that reached metaphase II (MII) were selected for in vitro fertilisation. After 5 h of co-incubation in modified Tween medium B with milk powder (mTBM)-based IVF media, presumable zygotes were transferred to porcine zygote medium-3 (PZM-3). Blastocyst frequency was recorded on Days 5 and 6. Day 6 blastocysts were stained with Hoechst for total cell number evaluation. The frequencies of blastocyst formation among the treatment groups were compared by a chi-squared test, and total cell numbers were compared by Student's t-test. Statistical significance was defined by P < 0.05. The frequency of oocytes reaching metaphase II (MII) were observed as 77.4% FFF, 72.7% IND, and 71.7% HFHF (P > 0.05), indicating the supplementation of pFF did not affect maturation. Day 5 blastocysts were observed at frequencies of 8.3% FFF, 6.8% IND, and 4.7% HFHF and did not differ. However, frequency of Day 6 blastocysts from HFHF group was tended to be lower compared with that of other groups; 12.5% FFF, 11.4% IND, and 4.7% HFHF (P = 0.06 and P = 0.1). Average total cell number of Day 6 blastocysts observed were 41.0 ± 9.1 FFF, 36.0 ± 8.9 IND, and 48.3 ± 10.6 HFHF. The total cell number from HFHF group tended to be higher than only that of IND group (P = 0.07). Based on these results, we concluded that the follicular fluid of females consuming HFHF diets did not have impact on nuclear maturation of oocytes but might affect oocyte competency, thus resulting in detrimental effects on subsequent development of embryos, especially blastocyst formation. Further studies will help us identify more specific effects of nutrition on oogenesis and subsequent embryo development.


2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
S.-S. Kwak ◽  
Y. Jeon ◽  
J. D. Yoon ◽  
S.-A. Cheong ◽  
E. Lee ◽  
...  

Previous studies have demonstrated that treatment of cloned embryos with trichostatin A (TSA) or scriptaid, inhibitors of class I and II histone deacetylases (HDAC), significantly enhanced their developmental competence. In the present study, we investigated the effects of sirtinol, an inhibitor of class III HDAC, on the embryonic development of porcine cloned embryos. Data were analyzed with SPSS 17.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) using Duncan’s multiple range test and all experiments were replicated at least 5 times. In experiment 1, 648 parthenotes were divided into 4 groups (0-, 6-, 12-, and 24-h sirtinol treatment after activation) to investigate optimal treatment time using 100 µM sirtinol. The cleavage rate of the 24-h treatment group (81.3%) was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased compared with the 12-h treatment group (88.4%) but there was no difference compared with the control (86.9%) and 6-h treatment groups (86.9%). The parthenotes treated with sirtinol for 12 h after activation had a significantly higher blastocyst formation rate and total cell number in blastocysts (50.5% and 66.9, respectively) than the control (39.4% and 54.1, respectively). In experiment 2, 806 cloned embryos were divided into 5 groups (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 µM sirtinol treatment for 12 h after activation) to investigate optimal concentration. There was no significant difference in cleavage rate. The rate of blastocyst formation and total cell number in blastocysts were significantly (P < 0.05) improved by treatment with 150 µM sirtinol for 12 h after activation (28.8% and 51.0, respectively) compared with the control (17.5% and 37.1, respectively). The total cell number in blastocysts was also significantly increased in 50 and 200 µM groups (47.9 and 48.4, respectively) compared with the control (37.1). In experiment 3, we examined the effects of 150 µM sirtinol treatment for 12 h after activation with or without 5 nM TSA on in vitro embryonic development after somatic cell nuclear transfer. The rate of blastocyst formation was significantly improved in sirtinol-treated and TSA-treated groups (30.9 and 31.3%, respectively) but not in the sirtinol with TSA group (27.6%) compared with the control (21.7%). The total cell number in blastocysts was significantly increased by treatment with sirtinol and TSA together (73.9) compared with the control (49.0) but there was no difference in only sirtinol- (59.8) or TSA- (59.2) treated groups. There was no significant difference in cleavage rate among groups. Our results suggest that sirtinol improves the embryonic development of porcine cloned embryos and sirtinol with TSA synergistically increases the blastocyst quality. This work was supported by a grant from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 program (no. PJ008121012011), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
S. H. Lee ◽  
H. J. Oh ◽  
M. J. Kim ◽  
G. A. Kim ◽  
E. M. N. Setyawan ◽  
...  

In oocyte maturation, hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) contribute to promote granulosa cell proliferation and cumulus cell expansion. It is well known that human endothelial progenitor cells (hEPC), which are isolated from monocytes and macrophages, secrete a variety of growth factors, such as hepatocyte growth factor and VEGF, and improve the process of angiogenesis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of hEPC on in vitro oocyte maturation and subsequent embryo development in pigs. To isolate and culture hEPC, human peripheral blood sample was collected from a healthy donor and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were separated. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells were seeded into flask with defined Keratinocyte-SFM-based medium and incubated at 37°C, 5% CO2. The hEPC were cultured and cryopreserved until use for co-culturing with porcine oocytes obtained from a local slaughterhouse ovaries. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were randomly cultured in 2 groups; 1) co-culturing with hEPC and 2) culturing without hEPC. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were cultured in the in vitro maturation (IVM) medium containing TCM-199 supplemented with 0.57 mM cysteine, 0.91 mM sodium pyruvate, 5 μL mL−1 of insulin-transferrin-selenium solution 100X (Invitrogen, Seoul, South Korea), 10% porcine follicular fluid, 10 IU mL−1 of eCG, and 10 IU mL−1 of hCG. After IVM, the first polar body extrusion was observed under the microscope. To evaluate embryo development competence, the matured oocytes were activated with electrical stimulus and cultured in porcine zygote medium-5 for 7 days. The cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were observed on Day 2 and 7, respectively. Also, blastocysts were stained with Hoechst 33342 and total blastocyst cell numbers were evaluated under a fluorescence microscope. As a result, the oocyte maturation rate or first polar body extrusion rate of the hEPC co-culture group (90.06 ± 0.75) was significantly higher than the control group (90.06 ± 0.75 v. 85.79 ± 0.59; P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the hEPC co-cultured and the control groups in cleavage rate. However, a significant difference in blastocyst formation rate was observed between the hEPC co-cultured and the control groups (28.45 ± 4.92 v. 15.87 ± 2.27; P < 0.05), whereas total blastocyst cell numbers did not show significant difference between the 2 groups. The all data were analysed by unpaired t-test using GraphPad Prism 5.0 (GraphPad Software Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA). Values are means ± standard error of mean. In conclusion, the results in the present study demonstrated that co-culturing with hEPC improved the in vitro oocyte maturation and blastocyst formation rate. Also, we are underway in analysing the concentration of VEGF families in the hEPC co-culture medium after IVM. For further study, we will analyse the genes of the VEGF signaling pathway in the cumulus cells and matured oocytes derived from the 2 groups. This research was supported by Nature Cell (#550-20150030), global PH.D Fellowship Program through NRF funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-20142A1021187), and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, the BK21 plus program.


2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 280 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Yoshioka ◽  
C. Suzuki ◽  
H. Rodriguez-Martinez

Porcine embryos, derived from in vitro maturation and fertilization, were used to investigate the effects of timing of serum inclusion and PVA replacement in the medium for in vitro culture (IVC) on rates of blastocyst formation and hatching. In Experiment 1, presumptive zygotes at 20 h post-insemination (hpi) or cleaved embryos obtained by culture in porcine zygote medium (PZM-5) containing 3 mg mL−1 polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at 48 or 96 hpi were further cultured in either PZM-5 containing PVA or PZM-5 where PVA was replaced by 1%, 5%, or 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) until Day 6 (Day 0 = the day of in vitro insemination). Supplementation with 1% to 10% FBS at 20 and 48 hpi reduced (P < 0.05; by ANOVA and Fisher's PLSD test) blastocyst rates on Days 5 (0% to 1%) and 6 (3% to 6%) compared with PVA supplementation (4% and 22%, respectively). However, addition of 10% FBS at 96 hpi increased (P < 0.05) blastocyst rates (30%) on Day 5 compared with PVA (11%) and 1% FBS (15%); there was no significant difference among treatments in rates of blastocyst formation on Day 6 (24% to 40%). The total number of blastomeres in Day 6 blastocysts did not differ among treatments at any timing of serum supplementation (26.5 to 48.3 cells). In Experiment 2, presumptive zygotes were cultured from 20 to 96 hpi in PVA medium, and the cleaved embryos were later transferred into PZM-5 containing PVA, or 1%, 5%, or 10% FBS for another 4 days. Hatching rates of embryos on Days 7 and 8 were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in PZM-5 where PVA was replaced with 10% FBS (15% and 20%, respectively) than those in PZM-5 containing PVA (1% and 5%, respectively). Moreover, the total cell number in hatching/hatched blastocysts on Day 8 were significantly greater (P < 0.05) in medium containing 10% FBS (135.1 cells) than that in PVA medium (77.0 cells). In Experiment 3, at 130 hpi, blastocysts derived from IVC with PZM-5 containing PVA were transferred into PZM-5 containing PVA, 3 mg mL−1 bovine serum albumin (BSA) or 10% FBS for another 2 days. Hatching rates of blastocysts on Days 6, 7 and 8 were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in PZM-5 where PVA was replaced with 10% FBS (12%, 56%, and 64%, respectively) than those in PZM-5 containing PVA (0%, 12%, and 20%, respectively) and BSA (0%, 12%, and 20%, respectively). Moreover, the total cell number in hatching/hatched blastocysts on Day 8 were significantly greater (P < 0.05) in medium containing 10% FBS (138.7 cells) than that in PVA (71.7 cells) and BSA medium (70.7 cells). The results indicate that the timing of serum inclusion in the culture medium markedly affects porcine embryo development in vitro and that replacement of PVA with FBS in PZM-5 at 96 hpi or later improves the subsequent development of embryos to the hatching/hatched blastocyst stage. This work was supported by MAFF, Japan, and STINT and FORMAS, Sweden.


Zygote ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Popelková ◽  
Z. Turanová ◽  
L. Koprdová ◽  
A. Ostró ◽  
S. Toporcerová ◽  
...  

SummaryThe aim of the study was to determine the efficiency of two vitrification techniques followed by two assisted hatching (AH) techniques based on post-thaw developmental capacity of precompacted rabbit embryos and their ability to leave the zona pellucida (hatching) during in vitro culture. The total cell number and embryo diameter as additional markers of embryo quality after warming were evaluated. In vivo fertilized, in vitro cultured 8–12-cell rabbit embryos obtained from superovulated rabbit does were cryopreserved by two-step vitrification method using ethylene glycol (EG) as cryoprotectant or by one-step vitrification method with EG and Ficoll (EG+Ficoll). Thawed embryos were subjected to enzymatic or mechanical AH. Vitrified EG group showed significantly lower (P < 0.05) blastocyst rate (22.5%) and hatching rate (15%) than those vitrified with EG + Ficoll (63 and 63% resp.) and that of control (97 and 97% respectively). Significantly lower values of total cell number (P < 0.05) as well as embryo diameter (P < 0.01) in EG group compared with EG + Ficoll and control group were recorded. No significant difference was found in developmental potential of warmed embryos treated by either mechanical or enzymatic AH. The present study demonstrates that the EG + Ficoll vitrification protocol provides superior embryo survival rates over the EG vitrification protocol for 8–12-cell stage precompacted rabbit embryos. No positive effect of either mechanical or enzymatic AH on the post-thaw viability and quality of rabbit embryos in vitro was observed.


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