精子和卵母细胞质量控制对山羊卵胞质内精子注射(ICSI)受精的影响

以体外成熟卵母细胞为材料研究了精子来源及制动处理方法、卵母细胞质量及注射后激活等因素对山羊ICSI效果的影响.结果说明,附睾头、体和尾精子ICSI后的受精率、卵裂率和桑椹胚/囊胚发育率与射出的鲜精精子都没有明显差异(p＞0.05),但带下注射时附睾头和体精子的受精和发育率显著低于附睾尾和射精精子.在以4种不同方法致死的精子中,室温保存24h的死精子ICSI受精、卵裂和桑椹/囊胚率虽然低于对照组,但是明显高于其它方式致死的精子;5℃保存15天的死精子受精和发育效果最差.0.0005%Triton X-100处理精子的受精率、卵裂率和桑椹/囊胚率显著(p＜0.05)高于制动对照组、不制动对照组和其它浓度组.经高渗处理法检测质量好的卵母细胞ICSI受精和胚胎发育效果显著好于质量差的卵母细胞.与对照组相比,A23187和Ionomycin/6-DMAP激活处理均显著(p＜0.05)提高ICSI的受精率、卵裂率和桑椹/囊胚发育率.因此,精子在附睾内的成熟过程主要与其获得与卵质膜融合能力有关;精液保存方法对精子受精能力的损伤程度有很大差异;适当浓度的Triton X-100处理可模仿精子制动;卵母细胞质量是影响ICSI效果的重要因素;注射精子后激活卵母细胞能保证山羊ICSI的受精效果.     

不同培养条件对猪卵母细胞IVM、IVF的影响

通过优化猪卵母细胞体外成熟、体外受精和胚胎体外发育体系,以进一步提高体外胚胎的生产效率和质量.研究了激素存在时间、不同激素和不同血清对猪卵母细胞体外成熟的影响;共培养体系、精卵作用时间、去除卵丘细胞的方法对猪体外受精及早期胚胎发育的影响.猪卵母细胞IVM培养48h,前24h内加入PMSG、hCG,后24h将其去除,卵母细胞总成熟率为79.54%;培养液添加15?S或15%NCS,卵母细胞成熟率分别为79.48%和74.81%;PMSG、HCG和E2配合使用后卵母细胞成熟率为81.42%.在IVF前用吹打法获得的卵裂率、桑椹胚率分别为37.89%和8.54%,精卵共孵育6h或8h的卵裂率(40.52%,37.24%)、桑椹胚率(8.42%,7.85%),以及用输卵管上皮细胞共培养所获得的卵裂率(40.84%)、桑椹胚率(9.53%)均显著高于其它各组.     

牛体外受精卵在两种共同培养系统中发育的研究

为了使牛体外受精卵能通过体外早期发育阻滞期,我们建立了卵丘细胞单层(A)和输卵管上皮单层(B)两种共同培养系统。A1共同培养实验是在本实验室进行的,A2和B共同培养实验均在日本岗山大学农学部动物繁殖学研究室进行,牛输卵管组织的分离使用0.76％EDTA—PBS溶液,共同培养系统均使用含10％小牛血清的TCM—199(Earle's salts)作为培养液。培养的卵泡卵母细胞体外成熟率为100％,体外受精率为99—100％。在A1共同培养实验中,越过阻滞期发育到16—细胞以上的胚胎占卵裂胚的35.7％,与A2共同培养实验中越过阻滞期的发育率(40.1％)无显著差异(P<0.05)。A1和A2共同培养实验,在卵裂基础上得到的桑椹胚和囊胚发育率分别为23.7％和27.9％。每百枚培养的卵母细胞,在A1共同培养实验中可获得桑椹胚和囊胚15.1枚,在A2共同培养实验中可获桑椹胚和囊胚的20.5枚。B共同培养实验中桑椹胚和囊胚发育率为54.1％,显著高于A1或A2共同培养实验的相应发育率(P<0.001),使用B共同培养系统每百枚培养的卵母细胞可以获得37枚桑椹胚和囊胚。     

ROS和丁内酯-I抑制山羊卵母细胞的减数分裂

本文研究了ROS(Roscovitine)和丁内酯-I(ButyrolactoneI,BL-I)两种细胞周期依赖性激酶抑制剂对山羊卵母细胞减数分裂恢复的抑制作用,并研究了抑制对卵母细胞成熟、激活和发育的影响。结果表明:ROS和BL-I对山羊卵母细胞减数分裂恢复的抑制作用具有浓度依赖性;200μmol/LROS、100μmol/LBL-I、100μmol/LROS+6·25μmol/LBL-I和50μmol/LROS+25μmol/LBL-I都能有效抑制山羊卵母细胞减数分裂的恢复,24h的抑制率分别为78·4%、80·9%、80·3%和77·8%。用ROS和BL-I抑制24h后转为正常培养24h,各处理组卵母细胞的成熟率(分别为81·3%、81·9%、83·2%和85·2%)与对照组(83·0%)无显著差异;成熟卵母细胞的化学激活率分别为93·3%、96·2%、92·5%和90·5%,与对照组(97·8%)无显著差异。然而,抑制处理后卵母细胞的卵裂率和桑椹胚率降低,未能发育到囊胚。ROS和BL-I抑制山羊卵丘扩展,并且转为正常培养后卵丘不能再扩展。ROS和BL-I能够浓度依赖性地抑制山羊卵母细胞减数分裂,二者既可单独,又可降低浓度联合使用,但抑制山羊卵母细胞的浓度远高于牛和猪卵母细胞的;ROS和BL-I抑制24h不影响山羊卵母细胞的成熟和激活能力,但影响卵母细胞的卵丘扩展和胚胎发育能力。因此,山羊卵母细胞减数分裂调控可能比它动物更精细[动物学报52(2):342-348,2006]。     

不同卵龄小鼠卵母细胞激活和受精的比较研究

本实验比较了不同卵龄的小鼠卵母细胞受酒精人工刺激后的激活率和体外受精率,以探索卵母细胞激活和受精的机制。向NIH雌鼠腹腔注射孕马血清促性腺激素（PMSG）7．5单位,48小时后注射人绒毛膜促性激素（HCG）7．5单位,于不同时间杀小鼠,取卵母细胞与卵丘细胞的复合体（OCC）。从注射HCG后到取OCC的时间视为卵母细胞的卵龄。将OCC置于含8％酒精的M2中7分钟,再在16中培养5小时后,用0．3mg/mL的透明质酸酶去卵丘细胞。卵母细胞形成原核或速即卵裂为激活的标志,将OCC加入已获能的精子悬液中,5小时后将从卵丘细胞中释放出来的卵母细胞转移到M16中,将日发生卵裂为卵母细胞体外受精和激活的标志。小鼠卵母细胞卵龄为20h,其激活率为81．6％,速即卵裂率为48．0％;而卵龄进一步增加到24h,激活率和卵裂率转为下降（Table1）。而卵母细胞受精子激活和受精则不同,卵龄为15h ,卵母细胞的体外受精率为45．4％;随着卵龄的进一步增加,体外受精率则下降（Table2)。Fig.1显示：新排出的卵母细胞容易被精子激活而受精;卵龄较大的卵母细胞较易被酒精的人工刺激而激活。可能是卵母细胞从成熟到老化过程中,细胞的结构、功能及对外界刺激的敏感状态都在发生一些规律性的变化,而激活和受精的机制不完全,还不能精对卵龄的要求要严格。     

影响猪体细胞核移植重构胚体外发育的若干因素

以卵丘细胞为核供体细胞组成重构胚,卵裂率达到56.7%,发育至桑椹胚达11.7%、孵化囊胚率为6.7%,显著高于成纤维细胞组成的重构胚(p<0.05)。我们研究了卵母细胞的采集方法,激活方法和卵龄对卵丘细胞核移植重构胚体外发育的影响。以血清饥饿法将卵丘细胞诱导至GO或G1期,抽吸法/解剖法采集卵母细胞,体外培养33或44 h,将卵丘细胞置于去核卵母细胞的卵周隙中,重构胚以钙离子载体A23817或电脉冲结合6-DMAP激活处理,体外培养6天,结果表明,卵母细胞采集方法、激活液中细胞松弛素(CB)并不影响重构胚的发育(以卵龄44h的卵母细胞为受体);而以电脉冲结合6-DMAP激活处理能提高重构胚发育能力(以卵龄33 h的卵母细胞为受体)(p<0.05)。本研究显示,以电脉冲结合6-DMAP激活卵丘细胞重构胚,能在体外发育至囊胚     

猪体细胞核移植重构胚的体外发育(英文)

以卵丘细胞为核供体细胞组成重构胚 ,卵裂率达到 5 6.7% ,发育至桑椹胚率达到1 1 .7% ,囊胚率为 6.7% ,显著高于成纤维细胞重构胚 (P <0 .0 5 )。本文还研究了卵母细胞的采集方法、激活程序和卵龄对卵丘细胞核移植重构胚体外发育的影响。以血清饥饿法将卵丘细胞诱导至G0 G1 期 ,抽吸法 解剖法采集卵母细胞 ,体外培养 3 3～ 44h ,将卵丘细胞放至去核卵母细胞的卵周隙中 ,重构胚以钙离子载体A2 3 81 7或电脉冲结合 6 DMAP激活处理 ,体外培养 6d。研究表明 ,卵母细胞采集方法、激活液中细胞松弛素 (CB)、激活程序并不影响重构胚的发育 (以卵龄 44h的卵母细胞为受体 ) ;而以电脉冲结合 6 DMAP激活处理能提高重构胚发育能力 (以卵龄 3 3h的卵母细胞为受体 ) (P <0 .0 5 )。本研究显示 ,以电脉冲结合 6 DMAP激活卵丘细胞重构胚 ,体外能发育至囊胚     

ROS和丁内酯-Ⅰ抑制山羊卵母细胞的减数分裂

本文研究了ROS（Roscovitine）和丁内酯-Ⅰ（ButyrolactoneⅠ,BL-Ⅰ）两种细胞周期依赖性激酶抑制剂对山羊卵母细胞减数分裂恢复的抑制作用,并研究了抑制对卵母细胞成熟、激活和发育的影响。结果表明：ROS和BL-Ⅰ对山羊卵母细胞减数分裂恢复的抑制作用具有浓度依赖性;200μmol／LROS、100μmol／LBL-Ⅰ、100μmol／LROS＋6．25μmol／LBL-Ⅰ和50μmol／LROS＋25μmol／LBL-Ⅰ都能有效抑制山羊卵母细胞减数分裂的恢复,24h的抑制率分别为78．4％、80．9％、80．3％和77．8％。用ROS和BL-Ⅰ抑制24h后转为正常培养24h,各处理组卵母细胞的成熟率（分别为81．3％、81．9％、83．2％和85．2％）与对照组（83．0％）无显著差异;成熟卵母细胞的化学激活率分别为93．3％、96．2％、92．5％和90．5％,与对照组（97．8％）无显著差异。然而,抑制处理后卵母细胞的卵裂率和桑椹胚率降低,未能发育到囊胚。ROS和BL-Ⅰ抑制山羊卵丘扩展,并且转为正常培养后卵丘不能再扩展。ROS和BL-Ⅰ能够浓度依赖性地抑制山羊卵母细胞减数分裂,二者既可单独,又可降低浓度联合使用,但抑制山羊卵母细胞的浓度远高于牛和猪卵母细胞的;ROS和BL-Ⅰ抑制24h不影响山羊卵母细胞的成熟和激活能力,但影响卵母细胞的卵丘扩展和胚胎发育能力。因此,山羊卵母细胞减数分裂调控可能比它动物更精细。     

不同卵龄小鼠卵母细胞激活和受精的比较研究(英文)

本实验比较了不同卵龄的小鼠卵母细胞受酒精人工刺激后的激活率和体外受精率,以探讨卵母细胞激活和受精的机制。向ＮＩＨ雌鼠腹腔注射孕马血清促性腺激素（ＰＭＳＧ）７．５单位,４８小时后注射人绒毛膜促性激素（ＨＣＧ）７．５单位,于不同时间杀小鼠,取卵母细胞与卵丘细胞的复合体（ＯＣＣ）。从注射ＨＣＧ后到取ＯＣＣ的时间视为卵母细胞的卵龄。将ＯＣＣ置于含８％酒精的Ｍ２中７分钟,再在Ｍ１６中培养５小时后,用０．３ｍｇ／ｍＬ的透明质酸酶去卵丘细胞。卵母细胞形成原核或速即卵裂为激活的标志。将ＯＣＣ加入已获能的精子悬液中,５小时后将从卵丘细胞中释放出来的卵母细胞转移到Ｍ１６中,次日发生卵裂为卵母细胞体外受精和激活的标志。小鼠卵母细胞卵龄为２０ｈ,其激活率为８１．６％,速即卵裂率为４８．０％;而卵龄进一步增加到２４ｈ,激活率和卵裂率转为下降（Ｔａｂｌｅ１）。而卵母细胞受精子激活和受精则不同,卵龄为１５ｈ,卵母细胞的体外受精率为４５．４％;随着卵龄的进一步增加,体外受精率则下降（Ｔａｂｌｅ２）。Ｆｉｇ．１显示：新排出的卵母细胞容易被精子激活而受精;卵龄较大的卵母细胞较易被酒精的人工刺激而激活。可能是卵母细胞从成熟到老化过程中,细胞的结     

昆明小鼠卵子的体外受精及发育的研究

为建立稳定有效的昆明小鼠卵子的体外受精和体外培养系统,研究中以成熟雄鼠附睾尾部精子与超排得到的卵子在TYH培养液中进行体外受精,并对精子的穿入情况以及受精卵中精子头部及卵细胞核的形态变化进行了连续观察。将小鼠输卵管上皮或卵丘细胞加至培养液中与受精卵共同培养,克服了“2细胞阻滞”现象,分别有72.3％和69.9％的胚胎发育为桑椹胚。将培养得到的桑椹胚和囊胚移植给受体雌鼠后,得到了产仔的结果。证明本研究建立的昆明小鼠卵子的体外受精和培养系统是可行的。     

精子和卵母细胞质量控制对山羊卵胞质内精子注射（ICSI）受精的影响

ABSTRACT Effects of sperm and oocyte quality control on the efficiency of ICSI of in vitro matured goat oocytes were studied in this paper. The results showed that when injected intracytoplasmically, spermatozoa from caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis resulted in similar rates of fertilization, cleavage and morulae/blastocysts, but when injected subzonally, spermatozoa from caput and corpus gave rise to significantly lower rates of fertilization and embryo development than spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis and ejaculates. When dead spermatozoa collected from semen that had been preserved in different ways were used for ICSI, those dead from liquid storage at 20 degrees C for 24 h gave rise to the best, but those dead from liquid storage at 5 degrees C for 15 days produced the poorest fertilization and embryo development. When spermatozoa were treated with different concentrations of Triton X-100 before ICSI, significantly higher rates of fertilization, cleavage and morulae/blastocysts were obtained with 0.0005% Triton X-100 than with other concentrations and manual immobilization. Oocytes were classified as of good and poor qualities by treatment in hypertonic sucrose solution, and rates of fertilization and embryo development were significantly higher in the good than in the poor oocytes after ICSI. Post-injection activation of oocytes with either A23187 or ionomycin/6-DMAP significantly increased the rates of fertilization, cleavage and morulae/blastocysts after ICSI. It is therefore concluded that (i) epididymal maturation mainly endowed spermatozoa with the capacity to fuse with the egg plasma membrane; (ii) different methods of semen storage caused different impairment of sperm fertilizing capacity; (iii) pre-injection treatment of spermatozoa with proper concentrations of Triton X-100 might be used to replace manual immobilization for ICSI; (iv) oocyte quality was a major factor influencing the efficiency of ICSI; (v) post-injection activation treatment of oocytes improved fertilization and embryo development after ICSI.     

Investigation of means to improve rates of fertilization in in vitro matured/in vitro fertilized bovine oocytes

Experiments were conducted with 5,979 oocytes to determine whether detaching some of the cumulus cells from oocytes either before or after maturation would improve the fertilization rate and proportion of oocytes that developed to expanded blastocysts. Oocytes were aspirated from ovaries of slaughtered cows and matured, fertilized and cultured in vitro. Pipetting immature oocytes before maturation to detach some of the cumulus, with all cumulus cells left in the maturation wells, significantly increased fertilization rates, especially of oocytes that initially had a full cumulus investment. In further experiments, pipetting oocytes either before or after maturation to detach most of the cumulus, or treating with hyaluronidase after maturation to disperse the cumulus, significantly increased fertilization rates and proportions of oocytes developing to expanded blastocysts.     

Pregnancies and live birth from in vitro fertilization of calf oocytes collected by laparoscopic follicular aspiration

Oocytes were recovered by laparoscopic aspiration from 3- to 8-week-old calves treated with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) followed by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to induce follicular growth and oocyte maturation in vivo. Most of the recovered oocytes either had resumed meiotic maturation at the time of aspiration or were competent to undergo maturation during subsequent culture in vitro. Oocytes matured in vivo following FSH and hCG treatment underwent in vitro fertilization (70%) at rates not significantly different from those of control oocytes recovered from adult cow ovaries at abattoirs and matured in vitro (75%). Calf oocytes that were immature at aspiration exhibited lower fertilization rates after in vitro maturation (36%) but their rate of development to morulae and blastocysts did not differ from that of mature oocytes at aspiration. A total of 91% of the zygotes produced from calf oocytes developed to morula and 27% to blastocyst stages during 6 days of culture. The proportion developing to morulae was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that observed for zygotes resulting from in vitro maturation and fertilization of oocytes recovered from cow ovaries obtained at an abattoir and processed concomitantly (59% to morulae and 18% to blastocysts). Morulae or blastocysts developed from oocytes from 5 to 6-week-old calves, when transferred to synchronized recipient heifers, resulted in 2 confirmed pregnancies, one of which produced a single full-term live calf. The ability to produce embryos from oocytes recovered from newborn or prepubertal calves offers the potential for markedly reducing the generation interval in cattle, thereby substantially accelerating the rate of genetic gain that can be achieved through embryo transfer.     

Effect of follicle cells on the acrosome reaction, fertilization, and developmental competence of bovine oocytes matured in vitro

The role of follicle cells in the acrosome reaction of frozen-thawed bovine spermatozoa, in vitro fertilization, cleavage, and development in vitro was investigated. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were cocultured and matured in vitro with additional granulosa cells for 24 hr. Immediately before in vitro insemination, the oocytes were divided into three types with different follicle cells: denuded and corona- and cumulus-enclosed oocytes. The proportion of live, acrosome-reacted spermatozoa significantly increased at 3 and 6 hr after insemination in all types of oocytes. However, the mean proportion of live, acrosome-reacted spermatozoa that inseminated cumulus-enclosed oocytes at 6 hr after insemination was significantly higher than that of spermatozoa inseminating denuded oocytes (18.3% and 13.3%, respectively). The frequency of in vitro fertilization was significantly higher for cumulus-enclosed oocytes (65.4%) than for denuded and corona-enclosed oocytes (30.8% and 39.4%, respectively). Cumulus-enclosed oocytes when cocultured with oviduct epithelial cells also had significantly higher rates of cleavage (two- to eight-cell, 59.8%; eight-cell, 22.4%) and blastocyst formation (7.7%) than denuded and corona-enclosed oocytes. No eight-cell embryos or more advanced stages of embryonic development were observed in either denuded or corona-enclosed oocytes without the coculture. The present results indicate that cumulus cells at fertilization play an important role in inducing the acrosome reaction and promoting a high fertilization rate, cleavage, and development into blastocysts in vitro.     

Energy substrate requirement for in vitro maturation of oocytes from unstimulated adult rhesus monkeys

The energy substrates lactate, pyruvate, and glucose were evaluated for supporting in vitro cytoplasmic maturation of rhesus monkey oocytes. A total of 321 cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) aspirated from > or = 1000 microm diameter follicles of unstimulated adult monkeys were matured in one of six media with various individual or combinations of energy substrates: (1) mCMRL-1066 (control); (2) HECM-10 (containing 4.5 mM lactate); (3) HECM-10+0.2 mM pyruvate; (4) HECM-10 + 5.0 mM glucose; (5) HECM-10+ 0.2 mM pyruvate + 5.0 mM glucose; and (6) HECM-10 minus lactate + 5.0 mM glucose. All media contained gonadotropins, oestradiol, and progesterone. Following maturation, all mature oocytes were subjected to the same in vitro fertilization and embryo culture procedures. Oocytes matured in control medium or in treatment groups 4 and 6 had the best morulae+ blastocysts developmental responses (35, 36, and 32%, respectively, P < 0.05). HECM-10 + 0.2 mM pyruvate + 5.0 mM glucose for COC maturation supported intermediate embryonic development (16% morulae + blastocysts). The lowest (P < 0.05) morula + blastocyst developmental responses were obtained after maturation of COCs in HECM-t10 and HECM-10 + 0.2 mM pyruvate (4 and 6%, respectively). The COCs matured in glucose-containing medium showed greater levels of cumulus expansion than those in glucose-free medium. These results indicate that (a) glucose is both necessary and sufficient as the energy substrate for supporting optimal cytoplasmic maturation in vitro of oocytes from unstimulated rhesus monkeys; (b) pyruvate suppresses the stimulatory effect of glucose on oocyte maturation; (c) glucose is involved in cumulus expansion; (d) cumulus expansion is not a reliable indicator of primate oocyte competence.     

Successful piglet production by IVF of oocytes matured in vitro using NCSU-37 supplemented with fetal bovine serum

Recently, piglets have been obtained from in vitro-produced blastocysts by using in vitro maturation systems in which oocytes have been matured in North Carolina State University (NCSU) solution supplemented with porcine follicular fluid (PFF). However, PFF is not available commercially. To prepare PFF from the ovaries required time and effort and there is substantial variation in quality among batches. Furthermore, PFF is considered a potential source of infectious agents. We evaluated another commercially available potential protein source, fetal bovine serum (FBS), for in vitro maturation, to produce embryos and piglets. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were matured in NCSU-37 with PFF or with one of four batches of FBS. The proportions of oocytes with expanded cumulus cells were lower in all FBS batch groups (P < 0.05, 15-41%) than that in the PFF group (74%). The proportions of oocytes that matured were also lower in all FBS batch groups (P < 0.05, 26-41%) than in the PFF group (73%), irrespective of cumulus expansion. However, the proportions of oocytes that underwent germinal vesicle breakdown were almost the same in all groups (76-96%). After in vitro fertilization, the rate of sperm penetration into matured oocytes was higher in the PFF group (P < 0.05, 63%) than in one batch of FBS (22%) and removal of the compacted cumulus cells after maturation did not affect fertilization status (21%). Subsequent in vitro embryo culture of the PFF and FBS groups for 6 day resulted in similar rates of blastocyst formation (17 and 19%, respectively) and similar numbers of cells per blastocyst (43 and 46 cells, respectively). When blastocysts obtained from oocytes matured with FBS were transferred into two recipients, one became pregnant and farrowed seven piglets. Transfer of blastocysts obtained from oocytes matured with PFF into two other recipients resulted in one pregnancy and production of four piglets. These data suggested that porcine in vitro maturation in NCSU-37 supplemented with FBS reduced the maturational ability of oocytes, but once oocytes have matured, they have the same ability to develop to term after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer as those matured with PFF.     

In vitro maturation and fertilization of prepubertal goat oocytes

The aim of this work was to study the IVM-IVF of prepubertal goat oocytes collected from a slaughterhouse as an alternative source of oocytes to those of FSH-primed adult goats. In Experiment 1, IVM of prepubertal goat oocytes in co-culture with granulosa cells were compared with IVM in 50 microl microdrops of medium. There was no significant difference in the percentage of maturation (72.0 vs 76.9%) between the 2 groups. In Experiment 2, a low percentage of normal fertilization (24.4%) was observed for prepubertal goat oocytes matured with granulosa cells from prepubertal goats. This result was significantly lower than that obtained for ovulated (62.2%) or in vitro-matured (48.7%) oocytes from adult goats. There were no significant differences with respect to the oocytes from adult goats matured in vitro when prepubertal goat oocytes were cultured with adult goat granulosa cells (33.3%) or in microdrops (29.7%). No differences were observed among the treatments in the percentage of oocytes showing evidence of fertilization (normal fertilization + abnormal fertilization + polyspermy). In Experiment 3, it was shown that there were no differences in the percentage of normally fertilized oocytes after in vitro maturation in microdrops containing oocytes with 1 to 2 and 3 or more complete layers of cumulus cells (32.1 and 33.3% respectively). In conclusion, the ovaries of prepubertal slaughterhouse goats were found to be an economical alternative for an abundant source of oocytes for IVM-IVF research. In vitro maturation of oocytes in microdrops yielded maturation and fertilization rates comparable to those obtained with oocytes from FSH-primed adult goats. Moreover, similar maturation and fertilization rates were obtained using oocytes with 1 to 2 layers or 3 or more layers of cumulus cells.     

Effects of culture systems on development of in vitro fertilized bovine ova into blastocysts

We examined the effects of co-culture with oviductal epithelial cells, cumulus cells, trophoblastic vesicles or amniotic sac cells on the development of bovine eight-cell embryos derived from in vitro maturation and fertilization into blastocysts. Frozen-thawed spermatozoa were treated with caffeine plus Ca-ionophore A23187 for capacitation and were then co-incubated for 4 h with oocytes matured in vitro. Ova resulting from this in vitro fertilization were cultured in HEPES-buffered TCM-199 + 10% fetal calf serum(FCS) for 68 h and then removed from the cumulus cell mass. The eight-cell embryos were cultured using four co-culture systems either without cells(controls) or within rabbit oviducts. The co-culture of oviductal epithelial cells, trophoblastic vesicles or amniotic sac cells significantly (P<0.05) increased development into blastocysts (39.0 to 50.7%) when compared with co-culture with cumulus cells, control or rabbit oviducts(1.9 to 29.3%). Six of 16 recipients became pregnant with frozen embryos derived from co-culture with oviductal epithelial cells(1/2), trophoblastic vesicles(2/7) or amniotic sac cells(3/7). Eight calves, including two sets of twins, were obtained.     

In vitro fertilization and development of llama (Lama glama ) oocytes using epididymal spermatozoa and oviductal cell co-culture

A study was designed to determine the feasibility of developing in vitro maturation, fertilization and culture systems utilizing follicular oocytes and epididymal spermatozoa collected from llamas at slaughter. From a total of 1324 cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) recovered, 972 were cultured in 50-ul drops of TCM-199 medium with 10% heat inactivated steer serum (DBS) and hormones for 30 h. After maturation, the oocytes were randomly allocated into 4 groups in a 2x2 factorial design: cumulus-enclosed oocytes, 2 ug/ml heparin (Group 1); cumulus-enclosed oocytes, 5 ug/ml heparin (Group 2); denuded oocytes, 2 ug/ml heparin (Group 3); and denuded oocytes, 5 ug/ml heparin (Group 4). Denuded oocytes were obtained for groups 3 and 4 by vortexing. Epididymides were also collected at slaugther and fresh spermatozoa (for each replicate) were obtained by mincing the cauda epididymis with a scalpel blade. A total of 721 oocytes were inseminated with 2-3 x 10(6) epididymal spermatozoa/ml in a 50-ul drop of FERT-TALP medium. After 18 h of in vitro insemination, 234 oocytes were placed in a llama oviductal epithelial cell (LLOEC) co-culture in TCM-199 for 9 d. All cultures were done at 38.5 degrees C under 5% CO(2) in air with high humidity. The rate of fertilization, initial cleavage and development in co-culture were evaluated and compared. Of 192 oocytes examined for signs of fertilization, 56 (29.2%) were penetrated by spermatozoa with 57.1% (32 56 ) of the penetrated oocytes having a male and female pronucleus. There were no differences among treatment groups in total fertilization. However, the frequency of oocytes fertilized normally tended to be higher in the denuded oocytes 67.7% (21 31 ) than the oocytes inseminated with cumulus cells 44.0% (11 25 ) independent of heparin concentration (P<0.06). The total embryo development rate to the 2 cells to blastocyst stage was 32.1% (75 234 ). There was no difference in development rate between groups. From the 234 oocytes co-cultured in LLOEC for 9 d, 15.8% developed into 2 to 16 cells, 5.6% into morulae, 6.0% into early/expanded blastocysts and 4.7% into hatching/hatched blastocysts. The results indicate that an in vitro fertilization system is possible in the llama utilizing slaughterhouse material and that llama oocytes can be fertilized in the presence of heparin and epididymal spermatozoa.     

Factors affecting the efficiency and reversibility of roscovitine (ROS) block on the meiotic resumption of goat oocytes

Goat oocytes from 2 to 4 and 0.8 to 1.2-mm follicles were freed (DOs) or not (COCs) of cumulus cells and cultured for different times in an inhibition medium supplemented with different concentrations of roscovitine (ROS). At the end of culture, oocytes were either cultured in a maturation medium for 24 hr and activated chemically for embryo development, or examined for GV chromatin configurations. Nuclear status was checked at different time points during maturation culture. Although both 200 and 250 microM ROS maintained 78-85% of oocytes at the GV stage for 24 hr, only oocytes blocked with 200 microM ROS developed to MII stage at a high rate after maturation culture. While few oocytes blocked with 200 microM ROS for 24 hr developed into morulae and none into blastocysts after activation, percentages of oocytes developing into morulae and blastocysts increased to the level of the control oocytes when the block time was reduced to 8 hr. While the GV and pMI stages were shortened with MI, and A/TI unaffected after oocytes were blocked for 8 hr, all the stages but A/TI were shortened after 24 hr of block. The sizes of nucleoli diminished with time and the GV chromatin configuration changed during ROS block. Significantly more DOs than COCs were blocked with 200 microM ROS, but none of the blocked DOs matured after drug withdrawal. However, maturation of the DOs improved significantly when ROS concentration was reduced to 150 microM or DOs were co-inhibited with COCs. The GV intact percentages of DOs did not differ after ROS inhibition with or without eCG, but those of COCs decreased significantly after ROS inhibited in the presence of eCG. When MII-incompetent oocytes from 0.8 to 1.2-mm follicles were inhibited with ROS for 8 and 24 hr prior to maturation culture, nuclear maturation improved significantly, activation rates were as high as that of the control oocytes, and some of the activated developed to 4- or 8-cell stages. It is concluded that (i) the efficiency and reversibility of ROS block was both drug concentration and exposure-time dependent; (ii) cumulus cells alleviated the toxicity of ROS on goat oocytes; (iii) eCG released goat oocytes from ROS block through the mediation of cumulus cells; (iv) ROS block quickened the nuclear maturation of goat oocytes and improved the developmental competence of meiosis-incompetent oocytes, possibly due to a sustained nuclear activity during inhibition culture; (v) oocyte nuclear maturation and activation did not depend upon cumulus expansion, but the embryo development occurred in association with cumulus expansion.