Culture of Bovine Embryos in Polyester Mesh Sections: The Effect of Pore Size and Oxygen Tension on In Vitro Development

The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of polyester mesh culture for the in vitro production of bovine embryos, as polyester mesh is an alternative way for tracking individual embryos throughout culture using time‐lapse cinematography (TLC). Bovine embryos were isolated during in vitro culture using sections of three different polyethylene terephthalate (PET) mesh products. In vitro matured and fertilized bovine oocytes were cultured in the 217 × 217, 230 × 230 or 238 × 238‐μm openings of PET mesh sections or in simple micro‐drops (control) for 7 days under either 20% or 5% O₂ tensions. No difference in embryo developmental rates was found between the culture groups in terms of cleavage, blastocyst formation and blastocyst expansion irrespective of O₂ tension. In contrast, under 20% O₂ tension, blastocysts that developed in PET mesh with 217 × 217‐μm opening had significantly higher numbers of total and trophectoderm (TE) cells than control embryos; however, the numbers and proportions of inner cell mass (ICM) cells did not differ. Under 5% O₂ tension, no difference was found among the culture groups in the numbers of total, ICM and TE cells in embryos. All three PET mesh products investigated in this study were proven to be effective to prevent embryo movement. The results demonstrate that bovine embryos can be cultured in PET mesh sections without negative side‐effects and suggest that embryo distance determined by the mesh affects embryo quality at atmospheric oxygen tension. Polyethylene terephthalate mesh with 217 × 217‐μm openings was found to be the most suitable for further application in TLC.     

Effect of Embryo Density on In vitro Developmental Characteristics of Bovine Preimplantative Embryos with Respect to Micro and Macroenvironments

To overcome developmental problems as a consequence of single embryo culture, the Well of the Well (WOW) culture system has been developed. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of embryo densities with respect to both microenvironment and macroenvironment on developmental rates and embryo quality to get a deeper insight into developmentally important mechanisms. WOW diameter and depth significantly affected developmental rates (p < 0.05). WOWs with diameter of 500 μm reached significantly higher blastocyst rates (32.5 vs 21.1% vs 20.3%) compared to embryos cultured in WOWs of 300 μm diameter or plain cultured controls. Embryos cultured in WOWs with 700 μm depth reached significant higher developmental rates compared with embryos cultured in WOWs of 300 μm depth and control embryos (30.6 vs 22.6% vs 20.3%). Correlation of the embryo per WOW volume with developmental rates was higher (r² = 0.92, p = 0.0004) than correlation of WOW diameter or WOW depth with developmental rates. However, the embryo per WOW volume did not affect differential cell counts. An embryo per culture dish volume of 1 : 30 μl was identified to be optimal when the embryo per WOW volume was 1 : 0.27 μl increasing developmental rates up to the level of mass embryo production. Giving the opportunity to track each embryo over the complete culture period while keeping high developmental rates with normal mitotic dynamics, the results of this work will provide benefit for the single culture of embryos in human assisted reproduction, mammalian embryos with high economic interest as well as for scientific purpose.     

3,4-Dihydroxyflavone acts as an antioxidant and antiapoptotic agent to support bovine embryo development in vitro

The effects of two antioxidants, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the flavonoid 3,4-dihydroxyflavone (DHF), on bovine embryo development in vitro were examined. Blastocyst development, total cell and inner cell mass (ICM) numbers, intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), apoptotic indices and gene expression levels were examined before and after treatment of day 2 bovine embryos (≥2-4 cells) with various concentrations of 3,4-DHF or SOD for 6 days. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance, with significance defined at the P<0.05 level. SOD had no significant effect on bovine embryo development at any tested concentration (control, 32.8%; 300 U/ml, 33.9%; 600 U/ml, 24.2%). In contrast, 10 μM 3,4-DHF promoted higher blastocyst development (39.3%) than any other concentration (control, 26.7%; 1 μM, 30.3%; 50 μM, 29.5%; 100 μM, 20.5%). Compared with 300 U/ml SOD, 10 μM 3,4-DHF resulted in significantly higher blastocyst development (44.2%) (control, 31.5%; SOD 300 U/ml, 33.6%). Treatment with 3,4-DHF increased the ICM cell number and reduced intracellular ROS production and apoptotic cell numbers. When O(2) tension was decreased from 20% (high tension) to 5% (low tension), embryo development rates were doubled regardless of 3,4-DHF treatment. Under high O(2) tension, 10 μM 3,4-DHF treatment may render bovine embryo development similar to a low O(2) tension environment. The best blastocyst development was obtained under low O(2) tension plus 10 μM 3,4-DHF treatment. The relative expression levels of antioxidant (MnSOD), antiapoptotic (Survivin, Bax inhibitor) and growth-related genes (IFN-τ, Glut-5) were significantly increased after 3,4-DHF treatment, while the expression levels of oxidant (Sox) and apoptotic genes (Caspase-3 and Bax) were reduced. These results suggest that 3,4-DHF may promote the in vitro development of bovine embryos through its antioxidant and antiapoptotic effects.     

牛体外受精早期胚胎与小鼠胎仔成纤维细胞共培养的研究

探讨了人工合成培养液ＣＲ１ａａ和小鼠胎仔成纤维细胞对牛体外受精早期胚胎体外发育的影响。结果表明，牛体外受精卵在ＣＲ１ａａ液中的卵裂率达７６．２％，８细胞胚的比率达４４．８％。小鼠胎仔成纤维细胞能够显著促进牛体外受精的早期囊胚以上胚胎的发育。牛体外受精后第５、６天的早期胚胎分别与小鼠胎仔成纤维细胞共培养，在受精后第７天发育至囊胚以上的比率分别达１９．８％和２４．６％；受精后第８天，孵化的囊胚比例分别达５．２％和７．５％。实验表明，受精后第５、６天的牛体外受精早期胚胎与小鼠胎仔成纤维细胞共培养，可显著提高扩张囊胚和孵化囊胚数量。小鼠成纤维细胞对胚胎发育的支持作用取决于胚胎发育阶段     

培养液及血清浓度对山羊孤雌胚胎体外培养的影响

试验比较了在SOFaa，CRlaa，mCRlaa3种培养液中添加不同浓度的成年山羊血清(NGS)对山羊孤雌胚胎进行体外培养的效果。结果表明：在3种培养液中，添加10％的NGS对山羊孤雌胚胎的体外发育效果较好，囊胚率分别可达62．79％(81／129)、53．52%(38／71)、13．64％(12／88)；mCRlaa组囊胚发育率和囊胚细胞数显著低于SOFaa组和CRlaa组，SOFaa组优于CRlaa组．但SOFaa组和CRlaa组间无显著差异。在现有试验条件下，以在SOFaa培养液中．山羊孤雌胚胎的体外培养的第72小时时加入10％的NGS的发育效果较好，囊胚率可达62．79％。     

Different factors affect developmental competence and cryotolerance in in vitro produced bovine embryo

The present study was conducted to examine the effects of culture systems and culture media on developmental competence and freezability of bovine embryos obtained by in vitro culture of in vitro matured and fertilized (IVM-IVF) oocytes. No significant difference was observed in the proportions of oocytes developed to blastocysts, the speed at which the oocytes reached the blastocyst stage and the number of cells, when the IVM-IVF oocytes were cultured in CR1aa with or without cumulus cells. Nevertheless, more of the IVM-IVF oocytes cultured either with or without cumulus cells in CR1aa were seen to reach the blastocyst stage much sooner than those cultured with cumulus cells in TCM199 (P<0.05). The proportion of embryos developed to the blastocyst stage by day 7 in CR1aa culture was significantly higher than embryos cultured in TCM199. Viability after frozen-thawed blastocysts were obtained in vitro, was seen in a significantly higher percentage of embryos cultured in TCM199 and developed to the hatched blastocysts than in those cultured in CR1aa (P<0.05). These results indicate that CR1aa was superior to TCM199 for the potential developmental of IVM-IVF oocytes to blastocysts during in vitro culture regardless of co-culture with or without cumulus cells. But the freezability of blastocysts developed in CR1aa was inferior to those developed in TCM199.     

Improved development of ICR mouse 2-cell embryos by the addition of amino acids to a serum-, phosphate-and glucose-free medium

This study was conducted to evaluate how exogenous amino acids could affect preimplantation development of ICR mouse embryos. Two-cell embryos collected from naturally mated mice were cultured in amino acid-, glucose- and phosphate-free preimplantation (P)-1 medium. In Experiments 1, 19 amino acids (aa; 1% and 0.5% of MEM essential and nonessential amino acid solutions, respectively) were added to P-1 medium supplemented with either fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin (BSA; 3 mg/mL) or human follicular fluid (hFF; 10%). Regardless of BSA or hFF addition, embryo development to the morula (84 to 86% vs. 97 to 100%) and the blastocyst (54% vs. 93 to 94%) stages was significantly (P<0.05) enhanced by the addition of aa compared with no addition. In Experiment 2, the cell number of blastomeres and inner cell mass (ICM) cells in blastocysts and the ratio of ICM cell to trophectodermal cell (TE) were evaluated after aa addition. In both BSA- and hFF-containing P-1 medium, a significant increase in total blastomere number were found after aa addition (47 to 52 vs. 62 to 63 cells) compared with no addition. However, the ICM/TE ratio was not significantly affected by aa supplementation in both media, while ICM cell number was greatly increased after aa addition in hFF-containing medium (12 vs. 17 cells). When blastocysts were further cultured up to 162 hr post-hCG injection, development to the hatched blastocyst stage was significantly promoted by aa addition (0% vs. 11 to 20%) in both BSA- and hFF-containing media. In conclusion, aa significantly promote the preimplantation development to the hatched blastocyst stage and such effect mainly exerted on supporting blastomere proliferation.     

In vitro culture conditions using chemically defined media for in vitro matured and intracytoplasmically inseminated porcine oocytes

The present study investigated in vitro culture methods [droplet and Well of the Well (WOW)] using semi-defined and defined media [modified porcine zygote medium (mPZM)] and the additional effects of insulin on in vitro matured and intracytoplasmically inseminated porcine oocytes. In Experiment 1, in vitro matured and intracytoplasmically inseminated porcine oocytes were cultured for 6 days in the following four groups: 1) mPZM-3 (containing bovine serum albumin) + droplet (30 mul), 2) mPZM-3 + WOW, 3) mPZM-4 (containing polyvinyl alcohol) + droplet, and 4) mPZM-4+ WOW. The culture media (mPZM-3 and mPZM-4) and methods (droplet and WOW) did not significantly affect the cleavage rate, but the blastocyst rate of the oocytes cultured in mPZM-3 was significantly (P<0.01) higher than that of mPZM-4 (20.1 and 9.4%, respectively). The blastocyst rates as percentages of the cleaved oocytes (51.8 and 16.9%) and the hatched blastocyst rate as percentages of the number of blastocysts (12.3 and 2.2%) were also significantly (P<0.01) higher in mPZM-3 compared with those in mPZM-4. There was significant interaction (P<0.05) between the two main factors; the effects of the culture media and methods on the rate of hatched blasyocysts as percentages of the blastocysts produced and, the hatched blastocyst rate (20.3%) as percentages of the number of blastocysts produced in mPZM-3 were significantly (P<0.05) higher than in the other groups. In Experiment 2, the additional effects of insulin (100 ng/ml) in mPZM-3 and mPZM-4 media was investigated in the WOW culture system. Insulin addition did not improve cleavage, blastocyst formation, or the number of cells in blastocysts. However, as in Experiment 1, mPZM-3 resulted in a significantly higher blastocyst rate as percentages of the cleaved oocytes than mPZM-4 (33.9 and 18.4%). These results indicate that a chemically defined medium (mPZM-4) needs to be improved to provide more suitable culture conditions for in vitro development of in vitro matured and intracytoplasmically inseminated porcine oocytes. However, the WOW system may be a useful IVC method for blastocyst development of in vitro matured porcine oocytes following ICSI when a semi-defined medium (mPZM-3) is used.     

不同培养体系对牛胚胎体外发育的影响

采用离子霉素和6-二甲氨基嘌呤(6-DMAP)对牛体外成熟卵母细胞进行联合激活,激活后采用不同的培养体系进行体外培养,观察不同的培养液对牛孤雌激活胚体外发育能力的影响。3种培养体系分别为:A(0~48 h:CR1aa+3 mg/mL BSA;48 h~7 d:CR1aa+10%FBS),B(连续7 d均为SOFaa+3 mg/mL BSA),C(0~5 d:SOFaa+3 mg/mL BSA;6~7 d:SOFaa+10%FBS)。结果表明:3种培养液对卵裂率没有显著性影响,分别为87.22%,94.33%和91.30%,但囊胚发育率存在显著性差异,以A效果最好,其囊胚发育率为25.56%;C次之,囊胚发育率为11.80%;B最低,囊胚发育率为3.55%。之后选择最佳的培养液进行体外受精实验,结果表明CR1aa可用做牛胚胎体外生产的培养液。     

The Effects of Blastomere Biopsy and Oxygen Tension on Bovine Embryo Development, Rate of Apoptosis and Interferon-τ Secretion

A series of experiments was performed to examine the effects of blastomere biopsies on subsequent development of IVF-derived bovine embryos. The first experiment was designed to assess the optimal time for blastomere removal. One blastomere was removed either 48 or 72 h after IVF. Biopsy at 48 h resulted in 17.2% of embryos proceeding to the blastocyst stage, which was lower than when biopsies were performed at 72 h (37.5%, p < 0.05). In the second experiment, embryos were cultured either under atmospheric or 5% O(2) following blastomere removal. Biopsies had no effect on rate of blastocyst formation with 36% of controls and 33.7% of biopsied embryos proceeding to that stage. However, culture under 5% O(2) significantly increased the number of blastocysts from 29.9% to 40.3% (p < 0.05). This effect was significant in both biopsied and control embryos. In the final experiment, biopsied embryos were again cultured under different oxygen tension. Blastocysts were collected and cultured individually for 48 h in medium droplets in their respective O(2) concentration after which time the medium was assayed for concentration of interferon-tau (IFN-tau). Reduced O(2) concentration again significantly increased blastocyst formation from 24.9% to 41.9% (p < 0.05). IFN-tau secretion was not affected by biopsies, but culture under atmospheric O(2) resulted in significantly increased IFN-tau concentration in medium droplets (12274.0 +/- 2825.9 pM vs 5046.5 +/- 2562.2 pM; p < 0.05).     

Evaluation of bovine embryos produced in high performance serum-free media

This review evaluates the quality of bovine embryos developed from in vitro-matured (IVM) and -fertilized (IVF) oocytes cultured in either serum-free or serum-containing media. Bovine embryos cultured in serum-supplemented medium contain numerous cytoplasmic lipid droplets and immature mitochondria compared to those cultured in serum-free medium. The accumulation of cytoplasmic lipids in embryos developed in serum-containing medium may be a result of incorporation of lipoproteins from the serum and may result in impaired function of mitochondria. The improved serum-free media (IVMD101 and IVD101) offer several advantages over culture in serum-containing medium, including increased rates of blastocyst formation and higher cell numbers. Additionally, the survival and hatching rates of embryos produced in serum-free media after post-thaw culture were superior to those of embryos produced in the serum-containing medium, suggesting that the abnormal accumulation of cytoplasmic lipids in embryos may have a negative effect on the sensitivity of embryos to chilling and freezing. These serum-free culture systems have proven to be beneficial for the production of good quality embryos from IVM-IVF bovine oocytes. Furthermore, recent studies have shown a correlation between mitochondrial function (oxygen consumption) and embryo quality. A new method using scanning electrochemical microscopy may be capable of assessing the viability and developmental potential of bovine embryos.     

牛体外受精卵的二步法培养体系的研究

以CR1aa为基础培养液,采用二步法对牛体外受精卵进行体外培养,完善牛体外受精卵的培养体系.实验一:对照组连续7 d均为CR1aa 50 mL/L FBS培养,处理组前3 d为CR1aa 3 mg/mLBSA培养,后4 d换为CR1aa 50 mL/L FBS.处理组的囊胚率显著高于对照组,但卵裂率和囊胚孵化率无显著差异.实验二:对照组连续7 d均为CR1aa 50 mL/L FBS培养,处理组前3 d为CR1aa培养,后4 d换为CR1aa 50 mL/L FBS.处理组的卵裂率显著高于对照组,但囊胚率和囊胚孵化率差异不显著.实验三:对照组连续7 d均为CR1aa 50 mL/L FBS 0.1mmol/L GSH培养,处理组前3 d为CR1aa 0.1 mmol/L GSH培养,后4 d换为CR1aa 50 mL/L FBS 0.1 mmol/L GSH.处理组的卵裂率显著高于对照组,囊胚率极显著高于对照组,但囊胚孵化率差异不显著.结果表明,GSH与二步法培养系统结合相对于传统的一步法培养系统更适于牛体外受精卵的体外培养.     

Effects of Serum-Free Culture Media on in vitro Development of Domestic Cat Embryos Following In Vitro Maturation and Fertilization

This study was conducted to determine the adequate medium for a serum‐free culture system of domestic cat embryos produced by in vitro maturation (IVM) and fertilization (IVF). Cumulusoocyte complexes recovered from cat ovaries were matured in vitro for 24 h, and then inseminated in vitro for 12 h. After insemination, the oocytes were cultured in five media [Ham's F10, Waymouth 752/1 (Waymouth), TCM199, modified Earle's balanced salt solution (MK‐1) and CR1aa], each of which contained 0.4% bovine serum albumin. There were no significant differences among the rates of fertilization of oocytes cultured in five media following IVF. The rate of oocytes/embryos developed to at least the morula stage was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in Waymouth than in MK‐1, TCM199 and CR1aa. Moreover, none of the embryos cultured in Ham's F10 and Waymouth developed to the blastocyst stage. There were no differences among the rates of development to the blastocyst stage of oocytes/embryos cultured in MK‐1, TCM199 and CR1aa. These results indicate that the type of serum‐free medium has a major impact on in vitro development of domestic cat embryos derived from IVM/IVF, and MK‐1, TCM199 and CR1aa media are suitable for in vitro culture of cat embryos in a serum‐free culture system.     

不同来源牛囊胚IFN-τ分泌水平的比较

干扰素-tau(IFN-)τ在妊娠建立中有重要生物学功能,对提高体外胚胎移植成功率有重要意义。为了探明不同来源的牛囊胚分泌的IFN-τ水平,本实验用细胞病变抑制法对牛孤雌发育(PA)、体外受精(IVF)、体外受精冷冻解冻(FT-IVF)及体细胞核移植(SC N T)等4种囊胚进行了检测。结果表明:在C R 1aa体系中培养7 d的PA、IVF、FT-IVF囊胚分泌的IFN-τ量没有显著性差异(P>0.05),但它们都显著高于相同日龄SC N T囊胚的分泌量(P<0.05)。分别在C R 1aa和SO FaaBSA体系中生产的PA囊胚分泌的IFN-τ量没有显著性差异(P>0.05),即2种体系对牛孤雌发育囊胚分泌IFN-τ量没有影响。在C R 1aa培养体系中生产的PA和IVF囊胚分泌的IFN-τ量与囊胚细胞数均无相关性。PA囊胚分泌的IFN-τ与囊胚直径平方无相关性,IVF囊胚的IFN-τ的分泌量与囊胚直径平方中等相关。     

Effect of the well of the well (WOW) system on in vitro culture for porcine embryos after intracytoplasmic sperm injection

For developmental competence of porcine embryos in vitro, it is important to improve the culture environment. The present study was performed to evaluate four different culture systems for in vitro matured porcine oocytes following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI); drop, well and two sizes of the well of the well (WOW) systems (500 and 1,000 microm in diameter). The cleavage rate on Day 2 and the mean cell number in blastocysts on Day 6 were not significantly different among the four treatments. However, the 1,000 microm WOW (24.6%) resulted in a significantly higher (P<0.05) blastocyst rate than those in the other culture systems (12.9, 14.8, and 7.1% for drop, well, and 500 microm WOW, respectively). The present study indicates that the microenvironment created by the 1,000 microm diameter WOW improves blastocyst production of in vitro matured porcine oocytes after ICSI, and that the effectiveness of the WOW system is dependent on the size (diameter) of the WOW.     

水牛活体采卵和无透明带胚胎培养体系的优化

本研究旨在探索哺乳动物体外受精（IVF）胚胎单独或少量培养时发育效率低、无透明带胚胎的体外发育潜能受阻的问题,以期建立提高水牛活体采卵（ovum-pick-up,OPU）和徒手克隆（handmade clone,HMC）胚胎发育潜能高效稳定的体外生产体系。研究首先比较了单个微滴内共培养的胚胎数量（1、3、5、10和20枚）对胚胎发育效果的影响;而后采用微穴体系（well-of-the-well,WOW）和辅助共培养体系（培养微滴中添加包埋IVF胚胎的琼脂糖小块）培养OPU-IVF胚胎,并用WOW体系培养无透明带的徒手克隆重构胚,与传统的微滴培养体系比较其体外发育效果。结果表明：单个微滴内培养的胚胎数量为1、3和5枚时,囊胚发育率极显著低于10枚和20枚组（P<0.01）;与微滴培养体系相比,辅助共培养和WOW体系均极显著提高OPU-IVF胚胎的囊胚率（P<0.01）,且WOW培养体系极显著促进HMC重构胚的卵裂率和囊胚率（P<0.01）。综上所述,胚胎群体培养有助于胚胎发育,在保证系谱明确的前提下琼脂糖包埋辅助胚胎共培养体系和WOW体系提高了OPU-IVF体外胚胎发育效率,且WOW体系还可用于无透明带胚胎的高效培养。     

Optimization of in vitro Culture System for Embryos Derived from Ovum-pick-up and Zona-free Embryos in Buffalos

The purpose of this study was to explore the problems of low development efficiency of small amounts in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos and limited development potential of zona pellucida-free embryos when cultured in vitro of mammals,to establish an efficient and stable in vitro production system for improving the developmental potential of living ovum-pick-up (OPU) and handmade clone (HMC) embryos in buffalos.The study first compared the effect of the number of fertilized eggs (1,3,5,10 and 20) co-cultured within a single microdroplet on the embryonic development effect.Then,OPU-IVF embryos were cultured using the well-of-the-well (WOW) system and the auxiliary co-culture system (adding agarosaccharide fragments of embedded in in vitro fertilization (IVF) fertilized egg in the cultivation of microdroplets).Furthermore,the embryos without zona pellucida were cloned and reconstructed by using the WOW system and compared with the traditional microdroplet system in vitro.The results showed that the blastocyst development rates of the 10 and 20 embryos groups were significantly higher than that of the 1,3 and 5 embryos groups.Compared with the microdroplet system,the assisted co-culture system and the WOW system significantly improved the blastocyst rate of OPU-IVF embryos(P<0.01).Moreover,the WOW culture system significantly promoted the cleavage rate and blastocyst rate of HMC reconstructed embryos(P<0.01).To sum up,embryo mass culture contributed to embryo development,and under the premise of ensuring a clear pedigree,the agar-sugar embedding assisted embryo co-culture system and the WOW system improved the in vitro development efficiency of OPU-IVF embryos,the WOW system would also be applied to the high-efficient culture of zona pellucida free embryos.     

Improvement of the Culture Conditions for In Vitro Production of Cattle Embryos in a Portable CO2 Incubator

The effects of different concentrations of growth hormone (GH) on in vitro maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF) and culture (IVC) of bovine oocyte/embryos in CR1aa or CR2aa media using a simple CO₂ incubator were investigated. The IVM/IVF/IVC of oocytes were carried out in the presence of 0, 50, 100 and 200 ng/ml GH in the medium. The proportion of metaphase II oocytes was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in 200 ng/ml compared with 0 ng/ml GH in CR1aa medium (59 versus 85%, respectively), but this effect was not observed under CR2aa. Higher concentrations of GH yielded lower rates of unfertilized ova and thus superior cleavage rates (36.5 ± 0.2 and 63.5 ± 2.0% versus 17.5 ± 0.2 and 82.5 ± 1.5% or 40.4 ± 0.6 and 59.6 ± 1.4% versus 16.6 ± 1.2 and 83.4 ± 6.2% for 0 and 200 ng/ml GH in portable or ordinary incubator, respectively) in CR1aa. This dose‐dependent effect was also observed in the percentages of transferable embryos, although not statistically different (17.2 ± 1.7 versus 27.3 ± 1.8% and 16.6 ± 3.1 versus 26.0 ± 1.4%, for 0 versus 200 ng/ml GH in portable and ordinary incubator, respectively). In contrast to the CR1aa, different concentrations of GH in CR2aa medium did not increase either fertilization or cleavage rates. In fact, higher concentrations of GH in this medium negatively affected the rate of transferable embryos. Hence, percentages of transferable embryos obtained in the portable incubator under 0 or 50 ng/ml GH were higher (p < 0.05) compared with those obtained in 100 or 200 ng/ml GH (35.4 ± 5.7 or 40.5 ± 5.4% versus 22.4 ± 2.4 or 15.5 ± 2.1%, respectively). There was however, no significant difference in the rate of transferable embryos in an ordinary incubator employing CR2aa medium, but the trend was more or less similar to that observed in the portable incubator. Despite the fact that relatively fewer oocytes were employed for the culture in the ordinary incubator, overall results observed employing the simple portable CO₂ incubator were within the range of those obtained in an ordinary incubator; implying that the simple portable incubator can effectively be employed for the in vitro production of bovine embryos under field conditions.     

Effects of ghrelin on in vitro development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of addition of ghrelin to in vitro culture medium on preimplantation development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos. In Experiment 1, we sought to compare the in vitro developmental competence of IVF and parthenogenetic embryos. No significant (P<0.05) differences were detected for cleavage rate or blastocyst rate between the in vitro fertilization (IVF)- and parthenogenetic activation-derived embryos. In Experiment 2, parthenogenetic embryos were cultured in Porcine Zygote Medium-3 containing various concentrations of ghrelin. The blastocyst rate was remarkably (P<0.05) increased when 5 ng/ml (PA-5) and 500 ng/ml (PA-500) of ghrelin was added to in vitro culture medium compared with the other groups. Total cell number per blastocyst was slightly promoted in the ghrelin treatment groups compared with the controls. However, the ratio of inner cell mass (ICM) cell number/total cell number was significantly reduced in the PA-50 group compared with the controls (P<0.05). In Experiment 3, we cultured in vitro fertilized embryos in Porcine Zygote Medium-3 supplemented with ghrelin at different dosages. The rate of blastocyst formation was markedly (P<0.05) elevated when 500 ng/ml ghrelin was added to culture medium (IVF-500) compared with the controls. Increased total cell numbers (P<0.05) were observed when in vitro fertilized embryos were cultured in IVF-50 and IVF-500 compared with the controls. However, the ratio of ICM cell number/total cell number was decreased in the ghrelin treatment groups compared with the controls (P<0.05). Taken together, the results suggest that ghrelin can enhance blastocyst formation of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos while exerting a negative effect on the structural integrity of the blastocysts.     

Effect of linoleic acid-albumin on post-thaw survival of in vitro-produced bovine embryos at the 16-cell stage

The effect of addition of linoleic acid-albumin (LAA) to culture medium before freezing on the survival rate of bovine 16-cell embryos after freezing-thawing was investigated. Embryos were incubated in CR1aa containing LAA (0.25 mg/ml) for 4 days after insemination. A conventional slow cooling method was used, in which embryos were cooled at a rate of 0.3 degrees C/min to -30 degrees C in medium supplemented with 1.5 M ethylene glycol and 0.2 M trehalose. The developmental rate to the blastocyst stage of thawed embryos that had been cultured with LAA-containing medium before freezing was higher than that of these cultured without LAA (P<0.05). However, with fresh, non-frozen, embryos that were incubated under the same culture conditions (with and without LAA), no such difference was found.