Cryopreservation of immature oocytes of the indigeneous Vietnamese Ban Pig

We report the cryopreservation of oocytes from Ban miniature pigs which are endemic in Vietnam. Immature cumulus‐oocyte complexes were collected from antral follicles of 7–8 mo old female cyclic Ban pigs and vitrified in micro‐drops. Oocyte morphology, lipid content, post‐warming survival, nuclear maturation, and embryo development were compared to those of oocytes from commercially slaughtered Landrace × Large white hybrid pigs. The size of oocytes in the two breeds was similar. However, significantly lower amounts of intracellular lipid were detected in Ban oocytes. There was no difference (p > 0.05) between Ban and Landrace × Large white oocytes in percentages of post‐warming survival (93.1 ± 3.4% vs. 70.7 ± 16.7%, respectively) and nuclear maturation after in vitro maturation (80.4 ± 5.1% vs. 90.0 ± 1.3% respectively). Similarly, cleavage (30.8 ± 7.8% vs. 10.3 ± 6.1%, respectively) and blastocyst development rates (9.4 ± 5.0% vs. 0.79 ± 0.79, respectively) were not different (p > 0.05) between vitrified Ban and Landrace × Large white oocytes after in vitro fertilization and embryo culture. In conclusion, high survival and maturation rates were achieved after vitrification of immature Ban oocytes and their cryo‐tolerance was similar to that of Landrace × Large white oocytes, despite the difference in lipid content. We succeeded to generate reasonable rates of blastocysts from vitrified Ban oocytes by in vitro fertilization.     

高浓度葡萄糖对猪卵母细胞体外成熟和早期胚胎发育的影响

试验旨在探究高浓度葡萄糖对猪卵母细胞体外成熟及早期胚胎发育能力的影响。取体外分离处于生发泡期的猪卵丘卵母细胞复合体(COCs),分为3个处理组。分别用含葡萄糖浓度为5.6 mmol/L(C组)、10 mmol/L(G-1组)、15 mmol/L(G-2组)的培养液,进行体外成熟(IVM)处理,42 h后观察,并统计卵丘细胞扩散情况和第一极体排出率;对体外成熟42 h后的卵母细胞孤雌激活,统计2-细胞、4-细胞和第7天囊胚发育。结果发现,G-1组和G-2组卵丘细胞扩散度显著低于C组(P<0.05);G-1组和G-2组的MII期卵母细胞死亡率和存活率与C组相比无显著差异(P>0.05),但G-1组极体率显著降低(P<0.05),G-2组极体率极显著低于C组(P<0.01)。孤雌激活后,与C组相比,G-1组和G-2组的2-细胞分裂率显著降低(P<0.05),4-细胞分裂率以及囊胚发育率均极显著降低(P<0.01),但G-1、G-2组囊胚细胞数量与C组相比无显著性差异(P>0.05)。进一步线粒体染色发现,G-1组和G-2组的线粒体与C组相比分布不均。...     

The effect of resveratrol on the developmental competence of porcine oocytes vitrified at germinal vesicle stage

We tested the effects of resveratrol both as a pre‐treatment and as a recovery treatment after warming during in vitro maturation (IVM) on the viability and developmental competence of porcine oocytes vitrified at the germinal vesicle stage. Pre‐treatment before vitrification of oocytes for 3 hr with 2 μM resveratrol did not affect survival, oocyte maturation and embryo developmental competence to the blastocyst stage after parthenogenetic activation. However, supplementation of the medium with resveratrol during subsequent IVM after vitrification and warming significantly improved the ability of surviving oocytes to develop to the blastocyst stage, and this effect was observed only on vitrified, but not on non‐vitrified oocytes. The intracellular levels of glutathione and hydrogen peroxide in oocytes were not affected by vitrification and resveratrol treatment. Also, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of apoptosis measured by annexin V binding between vitrified and non‐vitrified oocytes, regardless of the resveratrol treatment. In conclusion, resveratrol did not prevent the cellular damages in immature porcine oocytes during vitrification; however, when added to the IVM medium, it specifically improved the developmental competence of vitrified oocytes. Further research will be necessary to clarify the mechanisms of action of resveratrol on the recovery of vitrified oocytes from vitrification‐related damages.     

Cryopreservation of immature buffalo oocytes: Effects of cytochalasin B pretreatment on the efficiency of cryotop and solid surface vitrification methods

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficiency of the solid surface (SSV), cryotop (CT) vitrification methods and cytochalasin B (CB) pretreatment for cryopreservation of immature buffalo oocytes. Cumulus‐oocyte complexes (COCs) were placed for 1 min in TCM199 containing 10% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 10% ethylene glycol (EG), and 20% fetal bovine serum, and then transferred for 30 s to base medium containing 20% DMSO, 20% EG and 0.5 mol/L sucrose. CB pretreated ((+)CB) or non‐pretreated ((?)CB) COCs were vitrified either by SSV or CT. Surviving vitrified COCs were selected for in vitro maturation (IVM) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). The rate of viable oocytes after vitrification in CT groups (82%) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that in a fresh control group (100%), but significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those in SSV groups (71–72%). Among vitrified groups, the highest maturation rate was obtained in the CT (?)CB group (32%). After IVF, the cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were similar among vitrified groups but significantly lower than those of the control group. In conclusion, a higher survival rate of oocytes after vitrification and IVM was obtained in the CT group compared with that in the SSV group, indicating the superiority of the CT method. Pretreatment with CB did not increase the viability, maturation or embryo development of vitrified oocytes.     

小尾寒羊羔羊超数排卵及卵母细胞玻璃化冷冻保存效果研究

以我国地方品种小尾寒羊作为供体,对不同年龄羔羊(6～8周龄和12～14周龄)超数排卵效果以及卵母细胞冷冻保存对体外受精、体外胚胎发育、胚胎移植产羔的影响进行研究。结果表明:6～8周龄组羔羊只均超排处理获卵数和可用卵数(60.8枚和58.2枚)显著高于12～14周龄组(27.3枚和26.0枚)(P<0.05);经玻璃化冷冻—解冻后的卵母细胞体外受精,冷冻组的卵裂率和桑椹胚发育率(67.8%和35.6%)均显著降低于对照组(79.2%和53.8E)(P<0.05);玻璃化冷冻保存体外生产的胚胎,经移植后成功产下4只健康羔羊(4/52)。     

Effect of vitrification at different meiotic stages on epigenetic characteristics of bovine oocytes and subsequently developing embryos

Vitrification by the Cryotop method is frequently used for bovine oocyte cryopreservation. Nevertheless, vitrified oocytes still have reduced developmental competency compared with fresh counterparts. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of vitrification either at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage or at the metaphase II (MII) stage on epigenetic characteristics of bovine oocytes and subsequently developing embryos. Our results demonstrated that vitrification of oocytes at each meiotic stage significantly reduced blastocyst development after in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, vitrification at the GV stage resulted in higher blastocyst development than did vitrification at the MII stage. Irrespective of the meiotic stage, oocyte vitrification did not affect 5-methylcytosine (5mC) immunostaining intensity in oocyte DNA. However, at both stages, it caused a similar reduction of 5mC levels in DNA of subsequently developing blastocysts. Oocyte vitrification had no effect on the intensity of H3K9me3 and acH3K9 immunostaining in oocytes and subsequent blastocysts. The results suggest that irrespective of meiotic stage, oocyte vitrification alters global methylation in resultant embryos although such alteration in the oocytes was not detected. Oocyte vitrification might not influence histone acetylation and methylation in oocytes and resultant embryos. Vitrification at the immature stage was more advantageous for blastocyst development than at the mature stage.     

Effects of melatonin on maturation,histone acetylation,autophagy of porcine oocytes and subsequent embryonic development

Melatonin (MLT) is an endogenous hormone with roles in animal germ cell development. However, the effect of MLT on porcine oocyte maturation and its underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of exogenous MLT on oocyte maturation, histone acetylation, autophagy and subsequent embryonic development. We found that 1 nmol/L MLT supplemented in maturation medium was the optimal concentration to promote porcine oocyte maturation and subsequent developmental competence and quality of parthenogenetic embryos. Interestingly, the beneficial effects of 1 nmol/L MLT treatment on porcine oocyte maturation and embryo development were mainly attributed to the first half period of in vitro maturation. Simultaneously, MLT treatment could also improve maturation of small follicle‐derived oocytes, morphologically poor (cumulus cell layer ≤1) and even artificially denuded oocytes and their subsequent embryo development. Furthermore, MLT treatment not only could decrease the levels of H3K27ac and H4K16ac in metaphase II (MII) oocytes, but also could increase the expression abundances of genes associated with cumulus cell expansion, meiotic maturation, histone acetylation and autophagy in cumulus cells or MII oocytes. These results indicate that MLT treatment can facilitate porcine oocyte maturation and subsequent embryonic development probably, through improvements in histone acetylation and autophagy in oocytes.     

Effects of slow freezing and vitrification on embryo development in domestic cat

Cryopreservation of gametes and embryos is used to maintain genetic diversity of domestic and wild felids. However, felid oocytes and preimplantation embryos contain large amount of intracellular lipids, which affect their cryosensitivity. The objective was to compare the effects of slow freezing and vitrification and to study lipid phase transition (LPT) during cooling in cat embryos. In vitro-derived embryos were cultured 48 hr up to 4–8 cell stage, thereafter were either slow frozen or vitrified. Propylene glycol (PG) alone was used as a cryoprotective agent (CPA) for slow freezing, and a mixture of PG and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were used as CPAs for vitrification. After thawing/warming, embryos were in vitro cultured additionally for 72 hr. The total time of in vitro culture was 120 hr for all the groups including non-frozen controls. Effects of both cryopreservation procedures on the subsequent embryo development and nuclear fragmentation rate in embryonic cells were compared. There was no significant differences among the percentages of embryos achieved morula and early blastocyst stage in frozen-thawed group (36.4% and 20.0%), in vitrified-warmed group (34.3% and 28.6%) and in controls (55.6% and 25.9%). Cell numbers as well as nuclear fragmentation rate did not differ in these three groups. Average lipid phase transition (LPT) temperature (T*) was found to be relatively low (–2.2 ± 1.3°C) for the domestic cat embryos. It is supposed that the low LPT of LDs may provide a good background for successful application of slow freezing to domestic cat embryos. Generally, our study indicates that slow freezing and vitrification are both applicable for domestic cat embryo cryopreservation.     

GMP玻璃化冷冻未成熟牛卵母细胞核成熟及冷冻损伤试验

本试验通过荧光染色的方法建立了未成熟牛卵母细胞在体外培养过程中第1次减数分裂的各个阶段的参考判定图谱;根据这个标准来观察毛细玻璃管(GMP)玻璃化冷冻对卵母细胞核成熟和冷冻损伤的影响。结果表明,从屠宰场废弃的卵巢表面卵泡内抽取的COCs,70%处于生发泡期,12.5%生发泡开始破裂,7.5%已开始浓缩,这说明从屠宰场获得的COCs有较高的异质性;卵母细胞在成熟培养22h时收获排出第一极体的卵母细胞,可得到丰度较高的极体-胞质染色体对称、紧密相邻的成熟卵母细胞;GMP玻璃化冷冻损伤主要有2种表现形式,首先,直接影响膜结构的完整性,包括细胞膜和核膜,这可从退化的细胞比例看出(8～24h,有21.9%～27.2%的细胞处于该阶段),其次,影响CONDENSED向MⅠ期的过渡,这可从处于CONDENSED卵母细胞的比例看出(8～24h,有24.1%～34.3%的细胞处于该阶段)。     

Effect of vitrification procedures on the subsequent development of in vitro matured swamp buffalo oocytes following in vitro fertilization

Nowadays, the efficiency of buffalo oocytes cryopreservation is still low. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of two combinations of cryoprotectant agents (CPAs) and two vitrification devices for vitrification of swamp buffalo oocytes on their survival after vitrification warming, and subsequent developmental ability after in vitro fertilization. In vitro matured (IVM) oocytes were vitrified by either Cryotop (CT) or solid surface vitrification (SSV) interacting with vitrification solution A (VA) or B (VB). In the VA or VB solution exposed test, the oocytes showed similar survival rates, but decreased blastocyst rates after in vitro fertilization compared with that of untreated oocytes. After vitrification, the CT method combined with VA solution yielded a higher survival rate (91.3 ± 5.84%) of vitrified oocytes than that combined with VB solution (69.8 ± 4.19%–75.8 ± 4.55%); however, all the vitrification treatments showed lower blastocyst rates (1.1 ± 0.07%–5.2 ± 0.24%) compared with that of untreated oocytes (18.0 ± 1.09%). Our results indicated that combined vitrification treatments in this study did not improve the decreased ability of vitrified oocytes developing to the blastocyst stage.     

PEG引发对燕麦老化种子活力的影响

为探讨PEG引发对燕麦老化种子活力的影响,并确定其最适浓度和引发时间,试验以45℃老化48 d的超干燕麦种子(含水量4%)为材料,通过不同浓度PEG-6000(0,-0.3,-0.6,-0.9和-1.2 MPa)引发0(CK),3,6和12 h后,分析其发芽率、发芽指数、平均发芽时间及幼苗活力指数的变化。结果表明:低浓度(0-0.6 MPa)PEG引发降低了燕麦老化种子的发芽率、发芽指数及幼苗活力指数,并提高了其平均发芽时间;而高浓度(-0.9和-1.2 MPa)则相反。这表明PEG引发不仅能预防超干燕麦种子的吸胀损伤,还能修复其老化损伤,但作用效果与其浓度、引发时间及两者之间交互作用显著相关。该试验中浓度为-1.2 MPa的PEG引发12 h时效果最佳,但是否能应用于农业生产实践仍需深入探讨。     

胰岛素和白血病抑制因子对猪卵母细胞体外成熟和孤雌激活胚胎的影响

为探讨胰岛素(Insulin)和白血病抑制因子(Leukemia inhibit factor,LIF)对猪卵母细胞体外成熟(IVM)和猪孤雌激活胚胎(PAEs)的影响,在卵母细胞体外成熟或者胚胎培养基中添加Insulin和LIF,研究卵裂率和囊胚率的变化。结果:添加了5μg/mL Insulin后猪卵母细胞体外成熟效果显著提高,但成熟后孤雌激活发育能力与非添加组相近;而胚胎培养基中添加Insulin对孤雌胚的卵裂和囊胚的形成也没有明显促进作用;添加1 000 U/mL的LIF后,卵母细胞核成熟率没有明显提高,反而孤雌激活后囊胚率急剧下降,但对卵裂率以及囊胚总细胞数影响不大;在胚胎培养基中添加LIF后,孤雌胚的卵裂和囊胚形成并没有明显的提高。表明:Insulin对卵母细胞体外成熟有益,但是对孤雌胚胎的最佳处理程序还需要摸索;本文所采用的LIF处理对猪卵体外成熟以及孤雌胚胎体外发育没有帮助,还需要进一步研究其他浓度和处理程序对猪卵母细胞体外成熟和孤雌激活胚胎发育能力的影响。     

PMSG和hCG对猪卵母细胞体外成熟的影响

对猪卵母细胞不同发育阶段的激素需要进行了初步探讨。结果表明 :猪卵母细胞体外培养 48h ,前 2 4h在培养液中加入激素 ,后 2 4h不加激素 ,卵母细胞的A级成熟率 (51 73% )和总成熟率 (83 2 5 % )最高 ,极显著高于前 2 4h不加激素 ,后 2 4h添加激素培养的成熟率 (P <0 0 1 ) ;也显著高于不含激素的培养液连续培养 48h的成熟率 (P <0 0 5) ;但与添加激素连续培养 48h组成熟率差异不显著 (P >0 0 5)。     

Optimization of cryoprotectant treatment for the vitrification of immature cumulus-enclosed porcine oocytes: comparison of sugars,combinations of permeating cryoprotectants and equilibration regimens

Our aim was to optimize the cryoprotectant treatment for the preservation of immature porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) by solid surface vitrification. In each experiment, the vitrification solution consisted of 50 mg/ml polyvinyl pyrrolidone, 0.3 M of the actual sugar and in total 35% (v/v) of the actual permeating cryoprotectant (pCPA) combination. After warming, the COCs were subjected to in vitro maturation, fertilization and embryo culture. In Experiment 1, trehalose and sucrose were equally effective during vitrification and warming in terms of facilitating oocyte survival and subsequent embryo development. In Experiment 2, when equilibration was performed at 38.5 C in a total of 4% (v/v) pCPA for 15 min, the combination of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol (EG + PG = 1:1) was superior to EG and dimethyl sulfoxide (EG + DMSO = 1:1) in terms of oocyte survival after vitrification and the quality of resultant blastocysts. In Experiment 3, equilibration in 4% (v/v) pCPA for 15 min before vitrification was superior to that in 15% (v/v) CPA for 5 min for achievement of high survival rates irrespective of the pCPA combination used. In Experiment 4, when equilibration was performed in 4% EG + PG for 5 min, 15 min or 25 min, there was no difference in oocyte survival and subsequent embryo development after vitrification and warming; however, the developmental competence of cleaved embryos was tendentiously reduced when equilibration was performed for 25 min. In conclusion, trehalose and sucrose were equally effective in facilitating vitrification, and the optimum pCPA treatment was 5–15 min equilibration in 4% (v/v) of EG + PG followed by vitrification in 35% (v/v) EG + PG.     

罗同丘细胞对小鼠卵母细胞体外成熟及其后续发育的影响

观察了卵丘细胞共培养对小鼠生发泡期部分裸露（PNO）和裸卵（NO）成熟和发育能力的影响；分别用小鼠、大鼠、猪的卵丘细胞与小鼠PNO和NO进行了共培养。检测了小鼠PNO和NO的减数分裂能力、生发泡构型、受精和胚胎发育能力。结果，PNO、NO的减数分裂能力显著（P〈0．05）低于卵丘完整复合体（COCs）的减数分裂能力。COCs中SN型卵母细胞比率显著高于PNO和NO中SN型卵母细胞比率（P〈0．05），大部分PNO和NO的卵母细胞核型为NSN型。与对照组相比，与小鼠或大鼠卵丘细胞共培养的小鼠PNO和NO的减数分裂能力没有显著提高，但是与猪卵丘细胞共培养却可以提高小鼠PNO和NO的减数分裂能力。结果表明，猪卵丘细胞能促进小鼠卵母细胞的体外成熟，但并不影响小鼠卵母细胞的受精和胚胎发育。     

Effects of E2 binding enzyme UBC9 on porcine oocyte maturation,apoptosis and embryo development

SUMOylation is a dynamic post-translational modification process. However, the function of small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMOs) in the maturation of porcine oocytes and embryo growth is not well known. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of E2 binding enzyme UBC9 on the expression of SUMO-1 protein during the in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes and embryo development after in vitro fertilization. Four groups were used: 0 (Control), 5, 10 and 15 µg/ml UBC9. Western blotting, flow cytometry and RT-qPCR were used to detect the in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes, SUMO-1 content, viability and the expression of apoptotic genes. Compared to those in the control treatment, the maturation rate (p < .05) and viability (p < .01) of oocytes in the 5 μg/ml treatment group decreased significantly. SUMO-1 protein markers appeared at 59 and 71 kDa and the content of SUMO-1 protein in the 10 µg/ml treatment group decreased significantly (p < .05). In the expression of apoptosis-related genes, Bcl-2 gene expression was significantly downregulated in the 10 μg/ml treatment group (p < .05). However, Bax and Caspase-3 were significantly upregulated in the 5 μg/ml treatment group (p < .05). During embryonic development, the cleavage rate of oocytes in the 10 µg/ml treatment group was significantly reduced (p < .05), whereas blastocyst formation rate in the 5 µg/ml treatment group was significantly reduced. UBC9 regulates SUMO-1 content in mature pig oocytes in vitro, which affects oocyte maturation rate, viability, apoptotic genes expression and embryo development after fertilization.     

The effect of nerve growth factor on nuclear progression of porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation and embryo development

The present study examined the effect of nerve growth factor (NGF) on in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and subsequent embryonic development of porcine oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were cultured with or without 1.0 ng/ml NGF for 40 h. After IVF, they were cultured in vitro for 6 days. After 10 and 20 h of IVM, there was no difference in nuclear status between the NGF-treated and control oocytes. Significant differences were detected in nuclear progression of oocytes matured in the presence or absence of NGF at 30 h of culture. A higher proportion of NGF-treated oocytes were at M-II stage compared to the control. Nevertheless, at the end of the 40-h IVM period, there was no difference in the proportion of M-II stage oocytes between the NGF-treated and control groups. NGF in IVM medium did not influence the developmental competence of putative embryos. Most embryos remained at the 2- to 4-cell stage; however, a significant amount of embryos reached the morula stage both in the NGF and the control groups. These results suggest that NGF during IVM accelerates nuclear progression of porcine oocytes by enhancing the post-diakinetic events of meiosis.     

甲基-β-环化糊精对猪体外受精及早期胚胎发育的影响

为了优化猪体外受精技术体系,本试验探索了甲基-β-环化糊精(methyl-beta-cyclic dextrin,MBCD)对猪体外受精以及早期胚胎发育的影响。在体外受精0和4 h向受精液(modified Tris-buffered medium,mTBM)中添加不同浓度(0,0.5,1,2,5,10,15,20μmol/mL)的MBCD,受精孵育结束后转至PZM-3培养液中进行胚胎培养。对各处理组卵母细胞的受精情况以及胚胎发育能力进行了系统的检测,并用金霉素(chlortetracycline,CTC)染色法评估了MBCD处理后精子获能状态。结果显示:1)体外受精0 h添加5μmol/mL MBCD组的卵裂率、囊胚率、囊胚细胞数显著高于(P<0.05)对照组和除10μmol/mL MBCD组之外的其他试验组。2)体外受精0 h添加5和10μmol/mL MBCD组、单精入卵率显著高于(P<0.05)对照组和其他试验组,而多精入卵率显著低于(P<0.05)对照组和其他试验组。3)添加5μmol/mL MBCD组,0～1 h,F型精子迅速减少(78.56～19.43),B型精子迅速增加(10.79～69.86);1～4 h,F型精子和B型精子基本保持不变(B型:69.86～78.78,F型:19.43～9.11)。上述结果表明在体外受精0 h向mTBM中加入5μmol/mL MBCD可以显著提高获能精子比例,减少多精受精发生,提高早期胚胎发育潜能。     

乙二醇对兔胚胎冻解后发育率和产仔率的研究

将兔 2 细胞 ,4 细胞 ,8 细胞以及桑椹期的胚胎快速冷冻。以乙二醇作低温保护剂 ,浓度分别为 0 5 ,1 5 ,2 5 ,3 5mol/L。其中含 1 0 %犊牛血清和 0 2 5mol/L蔗糖 ,培养到囊胚阶段。结果发现 ,当乙二醇的浓度大于或者等于 2 5mol/L时 ,保护效果较好。在囊胚之前 ,发育程度越高 ,抗低温的能力越强 ,胚胎的发育率也就越高。各组发育到囊胚期的胚胎经移植后均能得到正常发育的胎儿