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。     

绵羊体外受精卵的体外发育及冷冻保存研究

将体外成熟、体外受精的绵羊卵子,在体外培养至桑椹胚—襄胚期并进行冷冻保存,观察了培养卵的体外发育和冷冻保存效果。从采自屠宰场的绵羊卵巢中抽取卵母细胞,用含有10％FCS(或NSS)、HCG、E_2和Hepes的M199培养24—26小时,再以经Ionophore A23187诱导获能的新鲜精子进行授精。授精后6—8小时移入发育用培养基内进行培养,发育用培养基为含有10％FCS(或NSS)、丙酮酸钠、Hepes的M 199。授精72小时后,FCS组和NSS组的卵裂率分别为36.9％和45.2％,后者显著高于前者。继续培养7—10天后,桑椹胚～囊胚的发育率分别为11.6％和23.4％,两者间差异极显著。将桑椹胚和囊胚冷冻保存于PBS+20％FCS+10％乙二醇冷冻液内,解冻后的胚胎形态正常率分别为82.0％和71.9％。     

小鼠原核期受精卵体外培养系统的筛选

为了筛选出最佳的小鼠原核期受精卵的体外发育培养系统,分别进行了四个试验。试验I:在体外分别用自配的M16、mM16、KSOM、mKSOM、CZB进行体外发育培养,进而筛选出一种最佳的体外培养系统;试验Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ分别:探讨了血清、PVA、rhLIF对小鼠胚胎发育的影响。结果,试验I中胚胎发育到2-细胞的比率差异不明显,但是在mM16和mKSOM中,发育到4-细胞的比率94.7%,90.7%(91/96;78/86)和发育到桑椹胚/囊胚的比率分别为78.1%,67.4%(75/96;58/86)均明显高于其他三种培养液;试验II用10?S代替M16中BSA时,胚胎的发育率均下降,即使在mM16中桑椹胚/囊胚率仅为4.8%(12/35)与对照组M16(40.5%)差异显著(p<0.05);试验Ⅲ用PVA取代mM16和mKSOM中的BSA其体外发育率显著下降,胚胎均无一例发育到桑椹胚/囊胚;试验Ⅳ:rhLIF能提高胚胎在体外的发育率可使mM16培养的胚胎囊胚率、囊胚脱出率分别达到84%(47/56)、39.2%(22/56)。结论:在不添减其他成分前提下,只在M16中添加0.1mMolEDTA、0.5mMol牛磺酸、1000IU/mlrhLIF便可获得84%的囊胚率,同时证明在M16或mM16添加血清都会降低其体外发育率;PVA还不能有效的取代mM16、mKSOM中的血清。     

慢病毒载体介导的绿色荧光蛋白转基因标记法研究猪嵌合体制作

目的:通过建立慢病毒载体感染猪胚胎体系实现胚胎标记,进而研究不同发育阶段猪孤雌胚胎之间的嵌合能力,为进一步研究猪早期胚胎发育以及细胞分化奠定基础.方法:首先,通过显微注射的方法把2×109I.U./ml、2×108I.U./ml和2×107I.U./ml三个梯度的表达绿色荧光的慢病毒载体分别注射到猪1-细胞胚胎和2-细胞胚胎的透明带下,进行胚胎的GFP转基因标记,在荧光显微镜下观察比较卵裂率、阳性胚胎率、囊胚率、阳性囊胚率和囊胚细胞数.然后,采用凹窝聚合法对同步发育胚胎在不同阶段(2-细胞,4-细胞,8-细胞)进行嵌合,2-细胞胚胎与不同发育阶段(2-细胞、4-细胞、8-细胞)胚胎进行嵌合以及2-细胞胚胎卵裂球互换制作嵌合体胚胎,发育到囊胚时在荧光显微镜下检测胚胎的嵌合状态.结果:2×109I.U./ml的慢病毒感染猪2-细胞胚胎组中,体外受精和孤雌胚胎感染阳性率( 80.00％、76.36％)和阳性囊胚率(90.74％、89.56％)都显著高于其它滴度组(P＜0.05),另外,慢病毒感染的两种胚胎与对照组对卵裂率、囊胚率和囊胚细胞数三个指标没有显著影响(P＞0.05).2-细胞胚胎之间嵌合囊胚率和2-细胞卵裂球互换嵌合囊胚率( 53.85％、62.50％)显著高于2-细胞胚胎与4-细胞胚胎的嵌合率(18.60％,P＜0.05),在同步发育胚胎中8-细胞胚胎之间的嵌合率(75.00％)高于4-细胞胚胎之间和2-细胞胚胎之间的嵌合率( 65.00％、53.80％).结论:2×109I.U./ml的慢病毒感染2-细胞期胚胎效率最高,另外,慢病毒感染对猪胚胎发育没有明显影响.8-细胞间的嵌合率比较高;发育同步胚胎间的嵌合率高于发育非同步胚胎间的嵌合率.     

体细胞来源及培养代数对核移植重构胚发育的影响

为探讨体细胞来源及培养代数对核移植重构胚发育的影响,实验采用电融合法将小鼠2—细胞胚胎卵裂球、胚胎干细胞(ES)、胎儿成纤维细胞、耳成纤维细胞、尾尖成纤维细胞、睾丸支持细胞和精原细胞以及不同培养代次的胎儿成纤维细胞进行了核移植。结果显示：2—细胞胚胎卵裂球供核重构胚发育最好,囊胚率为7．4％;ES细胞重构胚虽然发育率低,但仍有囊胚出现,比例为0．7％;胎儿成纤维细胞重构胚最高发育阶段为桑椹胚,比例为0．2％;精原细胞重构胚只能发育到8-细胞阶段,比例为0．3％;其他几类细胞重构胚则仅能发育至4-细胞阶段。不同培养代数的胎儿成纤维细胞重构胚除第3代外都可发育到8-细胞阶段,且发育率差异不显著,但第一代细胞重构胚2-细胞发育率(40．7％)显著低于2、3和4代细胞重构胚。结果表明：不同分化程度的细胞核移植后,重新编程的难易程度是不一样的,分化程度越高则重新编程越难;未调整细胞周期的ES细胞由于多数处于S期,所以重构胚发育率很低;体外培养传代有利于体细胞核移植后重新编程。     

用小鼠血液淋巴细胞构建核移植重构胚的研究

本实验用小鼠血液淋巴细胞为核供体进行了核移植研究。用淋巴细胞分离液(比重1．088)分离出小鼠血液中的淋巴细胞,直接用作核移植供体细胞,采用胞质内注射法成功构建的重构胚经常规培养2h后,SrCl2激活处理6h,然后添加mM16培养液和小鼠输卵管上皮细胞饲养层共培养。把发育至早期囊胚阶段的重构胚转移至小鼠胎儿成纤维细胞饲养层上,添加ES细胞培养液继续培养。对孵化出的内细胞团进行消化,然后接种培养。结果显示,小鼠血液淋巴细胞可以支持体细胞核移植重构胚的发育,核移植重构胚2-细胞率41．03％(128／312),桑葚胚和囊胚发育率分别为9．29％(29／312),1．92％(6／312)。重构囊胚在小鼠胎儿成纤维细胞饲养层上分离出2个内细胞团,分离率为0．64％(2／312)。实验证实利用小鼠血液淋巴细胞进行体细胞核移植是可行的,可用于深入研究。     

培养基中能量底物对猪胚胎发育的影响

旨在探讨丙酮酸和乳酸对猪(Susscrofa)胚胎早期发育的影响,将NCSU-23培养基中的5.56mmol/L葡萄糖替换为0.2mmol/L丙酮酸、5.7mmol/L乳酸,并将此培养基命名为mNCSU-23。根据实验设计,孤雌胚及核移植胚转移到mNCSU-23或NCSU-23中培养。激活第2天统计孤雌胚及核移植胚中的5～8细胞胚胎数。激活第6天统计孤雌胚及核移植胚囊胚形成率及囊胚细胞数。实验结果表明,mNCSU/NCSU处理组的5～8细胞胚胎数及囊胚数显著高于对照组(P0.05);单纯使用mNCSU培养猪胚胎时,囊胚率最低,发育结果最差(P0.05)。本研究证实,在体外培养前两天,用乳酸和丙酮酸代替培养基中的葡萄糖对胚胎发育有利。     

人-牛异种克隆胚构建及其线粒体来源

通过人-牛异种核移植技术获得异种克隆囊胚, 便于在不消耗人类卵母细胞的情况下从异种克隆胚中分离出人类干细胞。通过透明带下注射法将人胎儿成纤维细胞和牛耳成纤维细胞分别注入去核牛卵母细胞中构建异种和同种胚胎, 并比较两者之间的融合率、卵裂率、8-细胞发育率以及囊胚率。并对处于2-细胞、4-细胞、8-细胞、桑椹胚、囊胚阶段的异种克隆胚的线粒体DNA来源进行检测。结果表明, 异种克隆胚体外各个阶段的发育率均低于同种克隆胚, 尤其是8-细胞到囊胚阶段的发育率, 以及囊胚率都显著低于同种克隆胚(P<0.05)。异种克隆胚在2-细胞到桑椹胚阶段检测到人、牛线粒体DNA共存, 囊胚阶段只检测到牛线粒体DNA。结果表明: 牛卵母细胞可以重编程人胎儿成纤维细胞, 完成异种克隆胚植入前的胚胎发育, 异种克隆胚由于核质相互作用的不谐调, 影响其发育能力, 使其囊胚率显著低于同种克隆胚。牛线粒体DNA存在于植入前异种胚胎发育的各个阶段。异种克隆胚胎用于人类胚胎干细胞分离具有可行性。     

小鼠分离胚的培养和移植

将小鼠2—4细胞胚分离成为1/2半胚或2/4半胚后,在体外条件下进行培养,选择发育为桑椹胚、囊胚期的胚胎移植给假孕雌鼠。结果是,分离胚的囊胚发育率在Whitten和BMOC-Ⅲ中分别为88.1％和81.6％,1/2半胚和2/4半胚的发育率分别为89.0％和94.6％(p<0.05),F_1代和ICR1/2半胚的发育率分别为91.7％和49.2％(p<0.01)。在移植1/2半胚和2/4半胚的雌鼠中分别有3只和1只妊娠并产仔鼠2只和1只;在以1/2半胚,去透明带的整胚和保留透明带的整胚为对照移植的三个处理组中其雌鼠的妊娠率和产仔率分别为8.3％和2.8％,30.0％和10.8％,60.0％和36.7％,各处理组间均有显著差异(p<0.01)。     

小鼠电融合四倍体胚胎早期发育的研究

多倍体发育现象在低等动物,尤其是在无脊椎动物中比较普遍,在哺乳动物中多倍体往往发育到胚胎早期就死亡,因而在自然界中不能存活。探讨哺乳类四倍体不能存活的原因是当今生物学研究的热点问题之一。目前,电融合技术是大量获得四倍体胚胎的主要手段。本以8－12周龄昆明小白鼠为实验对象,取其2－细胞胚胎于Whitten氏液中进行电融合,再移入CZB液中培养。电刺激的条件分别为：1．0kv/cm,40μs,和0．8kv/cm,80μs。对融合胚发育的状态、细胞数目及染色体组成等进行观察的结果表明,融合胚培养24小时后发育到4－细胞期,并发生致密化（Tab.1)。融合胚的囊胚形成时间与体内发育的同期胚胎及体外培养的同期二倍体胚胎基本一致（Tab,2;Fig.1)。融合囊胚的细胞数平均为13．0±4．95,显（P＜0．01）少于体外发育囊胚（37．0±5．92）和体内发育囊胚（41．6±2．4）的细胞数（Tab.3)。融合胚各个分裂相的染色体数目分布情况见Fig.2,其四倍体（4n＝80）率为42．86％,非整倍体率达57．14％。而对照组的体内发育囊胚的非整倍体率仅为11．54％;（Tab.4),与Kaufman的结果（12．4％）很接近,说明本实验中的染色体制备技术和分析方法是可行的。融合囊胚的细胞数目减少和高发的非整倍体率可能是四倍体胚胎发育能力差的原因。     

The effects of follicular fluid on in vitro maturation, oocyte fertilization and the development of bovine embryos

We determined the effects of follicular fluid in the maturation medium on bovine oocyte maturation, fertilization and subsequent development, as well as on the number of cells in blastocysts following culture. Fluid and oocytes from bovine follicles less than 5 mm in diameter were collected from the ovaries of slaughtered cows. For the maturation medium, follicular fluid at concentrations of 10, 30 or 60% (v/v) was added to Medium 199 with Earle's salts supplemented with 0.1 microg/ml estradiol-17 beta (E(2), Experiment 1) or 0.1 microg/ml E2 and 100 IU/ml hCG (Experiment 2). The control medium contained polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP; 3 mg/ml) instead of follicular fluid. After maturation for 24 h, oocytes were fertilized in vitro with bull frozen-thawed spermatozoa and cultured on a monolayer of granulosa cells for 9 d. There were no differences in maturation or fertilization rates of oocytes. In Experiment 1, maturation medium containing 10% follicular fluid did not affect the developmental rate of the oocytes to > 2-cell, 8 to 16-cell, blastocyst and hatched blastocyst stage embryos, respectively; whereas 60% decreased embryonic development (P < 0.05) compared with the control. Blastocysts and hatched blastocysts developed from fertilized oocytes which had been matured in medium containing 10 and 30% follicular fluid/E(2) had more cells than the controls (P < 0.01). In Experiment 2, maturation medium containing 10 or 30% follicular fluid did not affect the development fertilized oocytes to the blastocyst stage compared with the control, but decreased at 60% (P < 0.01). There were no differences in the number of cells from Day 9 blastocysts and hatched blastocysts from fertilized oocytes matured in maturation medium containing follicular fluid and E(2) + hCG. The results of these experiments suggest that the addition of bovine follicular fluid to the maturation medium enhances the cell numbers in blastocysts from bovine follicular oocytes matured in vitro.     

Effect of holding technique and culture drop size in individual or group culture on blastocyst development after ICSI of equine oocytes with low meiotic competence

The effect of medium-to-embryo ratio on blastocyst development of equine embryos from oocytes with compact cumuli was evaluated in the present experiment. In addition, two methods for holding oocytes before in vitro maturation were compared. In Experiment 1, oocytes cultured with roscovitine for 16-18h before maturation were fertilized by intracytoplasmic sperm injection and cultured individually in 2.5, 5, 10 or 50microl droplets. In Experiment 2, oocytes were either cultured with roscovitine or held in a modified M199 with 20% serum at room temperature (EH treatment) for 16-18h, then matured, fertilized and cultured in groups at 5microl medium per embryo. In Experiment 3, oocytes were held in the EH treatment, then were matured and fertilized. In Study 3.1, injected oocytes were cultured individually in drop sizes as for Experiment 1; in Study 3.2, groups of 2-7 oocytes were cultured in fixed drop sizes of 5 or 50microl. Blastocyst development rates of individually-cultured embryos were not significantly different among drop sizes in either Experiment 1 or 3 (15-29%). In Experiment 2, blastocyst rates were not significantly different between holding treatments (17-23%). In Experiment 3, for group-cultured oocytes, blastocyst development was not significantly different between 5 and 50microl drops (39 and 27%, respectively). In conclusion, compact-cumulus oocytes may be effectively held in the EH treatment before maturation, and single culture of equine embryos yields acceptable blastocyst development. The greatest blastocyst rate (39%) was obtained with group culture in a 5microl droplet.     

SD大鼠体外受精与早期胚胎体外培养体系的初步建立

目的改造IVF-30和HTFplus培养液,观察在改造后培养液里卵的受精和早期胚胎的发育状况,寻找适合SD大鼠体外受精和早期胚胎培养的实验体系。方法采用两种方法(超数排卵及体内成熟)采集成熟卵母细胞用于体外受精。选择两种商品化的培养液IVF-30(Vitrolife),HTFplus(Lifeglobal)。分别在以上的培养基中增加10、20、30mmol/L的NaCl,将培养液的渗透压提升至325~355mOsM之间,观察在改造前与改造后的培养液内SD大鼠卵母细胞受精率和囊胚发育率等指标。结果经改造的培养液HTFplus和IVF-30,体外受精率分别从13%、15%提升至70%、67%。改造后的IVF-30和HTFplus的2细胞,大于4细胞及囊胚的发育率分别为85%,74%,22%;96%,75%,32%。HTFplus,IVF-30经过改造后更适合于SD大鼠的体外受精及早期胚胎培养。与超排相比较更多的在自然周期的体内成熟卵母细胞(16%,28%)发育到了囊胚。结论成功建立了SD大鼠的体外受精和体外培养系统。     

Effect of meiotic stages and maturation protocols on bovine oocyte's resistance to cryopreservation

We investigated the effect of meiotic stages and two maturation protocols on bovine oocyte's resistance to cryopreservation. Oocytes at germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) and metaphase II (MII) stage as well as oocytes matured for 22 h in media supplemented with FSH or LH were vitrified by the open pulled straw method. After warming, oocytes underwent additional 16 h (GVBD group) or 2 h (MII group) maturation. Then they were subjected to in vitro fertilization and culture. Some oocytes that matured in the medium supplemented with LH were subjected to parthenogenetic activation after vitrification to determine their developmental potential in absence of fertilization. Survival of oocytes after vitrifying/warming was determined after 22 h in fertilization medium. Cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were used to assess their developmental competence. In both experiments, a portion of unvitrified MII oocytes were subjected to in vitro fertilization and culture as control groups. In Experiment 1, similar cleavage rates were obtained for both GVBD and MII oocytes (53.56 versus 58.01%, P > 0.05). However, significantly higher proportion of cleaved embryos from vitrified MII oocytes developed into blastocysts than those from vitrified GVBD oocytes (1.06 versus 8.37%, respectively, P < 0.01). In Experiment 2, vitrified MII oocytes matured in medium supplemented with LH were superior to vitrified MII oocytes matured in FSH supplementation not only in cleavage rates (61.13 versus 50.33%), but in blastocyst formation rates (11.79 versus 5.19%, P < 0.01) as well. Cleavage and blastocyst formation rates of parthenogenetically activated oocytes were similar to those that were fertilized. Nevertheless, the vitrifying/ warming process significantly compromised the oocytes' developmental capacity since the vitrified oocytes showed significant reduction in both cleavage and blastocyst rates compared to those of not vitrified controls in both experiments (P < 0.01). We showed that oocytes at different maturation stages respond to cryopreservation differently and MII stage oocytes have better resistance to cryopreservation than GVBD stage oocytes. The maturation protocols also influence oocyte's ability to survive cryopreservation. Poor developmental potential after vitrification seem to have resulted from the cryodamage to the oocyte itself. These results suggested the importance of maturation on the developmental competence of cryopreserved oocytes.     

Developmental ability of porcine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro

The developmental abilities of porcine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro were examined in vivo and in vitro. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were cultured in mM199 supplemented with 10% porcine follicular fluid (PFF) and hormonal supplements (PMSG, hCG and estradiol-17beta) for 20 h and then without hormonal supplements for an additional 20 h. In Experiment 1, oocytes were then co-cultured for 6 h with spermatozoa which had been preincubated with 1% PFF (PFF-treated) or without (control). Oocytes were transferred to oviducts of gilts or cultured in modified Whitten's medium for 5 d. The percentages of oocytes with monospermic penetration (59%, 42 71 ) and with monospermic penetration and male and female pronuclei (32%, 23 71 ) were higher (P < 0.01) in the PFF-treated group than in controls (25%, 18 71 and 8%, 6 71 , respectively). After 5 d, the percentages of oocytes that developed to the morula or blastocyst stages in vitro and in vivo in the PFF-treated group (10%, 28 288 and 13%, 41 318 , respectively) were also higher (P < 0.05) than in controls (2%, 6 284 and 6%, 16 248 , respectively). Whereas some oocytes that were matured and fertilized in vitro developed to the blastocyst stage after 5 d in vivo culture (3%, 9 288 in PFF-treated group and 2%, 6 284 in control), no blastocysts were observed after 5 d when oocytes were cultured in vitro. When the progression of in vitro development of porcine oocytes that were matured and fertilized in vitro was examined in Experiment 2, morulae appeared after 72 h of culture, and 3% (3 100 ) of the oocytes developed to the blastocyst stage after 144 h (6 d) of culture. These results demonstrate that decreasing polyspermic penetration and increasing monospermic male pronuclear formation, as a result of PFF treatment of maturing spermatozoa, improved the developmental ability of porcine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro. However, development in vitro was delayed by approximately 24 h compared with in vivo development, most of the embryos were blocked at the morula stage.     

In vitro production of pig embryos: comparisons of culture media and boars

The utilization of in vitro produced pig embryos for commercial production or research is dependent upon the development of improved methodology. Our objective was to establish a consistent in vitro embryo production (IVP) system and subsequently utilize the procedures to evaluate culture system components and boar effects. To summarize the IVP system, 403 inseminated oocytes from a total of 2243 were analyzed across 17 replicates for maturation and fertilization efficiency, while 1838 zygotes were cultured in 26 replicates for developmental data. Penetration, cleavage and blastocyst development rates were determined at 18, 44 and either 144 or 168 h post insemination, respectively. Monospermic penetration averaged 31.8+/-7.3% while polyspermy was 30.8+/-17.2%. Cleavage rate was 44.9+/-16.1%, with 21.8+/-7.5% of fertilized oocytes and 51.9+/-15.9% of cleaved embryos developing to blastocysts. For culture medium comparison, fertilized oocytes were cultured in either BECM-6, BECM-7, NCSU-23 or NCSU-23aa and supplemented on Day 5 post insemination (pi) with 10% FCS. These treatments resulted in 4.0, 4.9, 19.8 and 13.6% (+/-3.2%) blastocysts by Day 7 pi, with an average cell number of 44.4+/-9.0, 65.1+/-8.2, 61.3+/-4.5 and 64.4+/-4.8, respectively. These IVP procedures consistently produced zygotes from semen of several different boars, capable of forming blastocysts in vitro. Comparison of developmental rates among the boars indicated that this system is variable among boars but not strictly boar-dependent. Culture media comparisons suggest that NCSU-23 yielded a higher percentage of blastocysts than the other media in this IVP system.     

Effect of follicle-stimulating hormone on nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of sow oocytes in vitro

A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of FSH supplementation during IVM on porcine oocyte nuclear maturation, and subsequent fertilization, cleavage and embryo development. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured 40 h without FSH (control), 40 h with FSH (FSH 0-40 h), or 20 h with FSH followed by a 20-h culture period without FSH (FSH 0-20 h). Nuclear stage of oocytes was assessed at intervals from 12 to 40 h of IVM. Furthermore, oocytes were in vitro fertilized, fixed and stained to determine normally fertilized and polyspermic oocytes. Additionally, COCs were matured with FSH, fertilized and zygotes cultured in NCSU-23. The percentage of cleaved embryos and blastocysts were determined and the number of nuclei was counted. The presence of FSH during the first 20 h of IVM retarded germinal vesicle breakdown. After 40 h of culture 84, 67 and 58% MII oocytes were observed in the FSH 0-20 h, FSH 0-40 h and control groups, respectively. After IVF, penetration rates were similar at 27, 26 and 29%, while the proportion of polyspermic oocytes was 7, 19 and 11% of penetrated oocytes for control, FSH 0-40 and FSH 0-20 h groups, respectively. Cleavage and blastocyst rates differed among treatments (21, 29 and 38%, and 7, 15 and 20% for control, FSH 0-40 and FSH 0-20 h groups, respectively). No differences in blastocyst cell number were found among groups. Blastocyst rates, based on number of cleaved embryos, were 51 and 52% for the FSH 0-40 and FSH 0-20 h groups, which differed significantly from the control group (31%). The results indicate that FSH has a stimulatory effect on nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of sow oocytes. Addition of FSH for the first 20 h of culture was most beneficial, based on cleavage and blastocyst development rates.     

Bovine oocyte maturation, fertilization and further development in vitro and after transfer into recipients

Bovine oocytes were aspirated from ovaries within 1.6 to 2 hours after slaughter. They were then matured in TCM-199 medium drops under oil in CO(2)/air incubator at 39 degrees C. Spermatozoa were capacitated in SP-TALP medium with heparin. The percentage of embryos that developed in vitro to the 4- and 6- cell stages 48 hours post insemination and then reached the morula or blastocyst stage was 64.3% and 59.2%, respectively, while only 3.6% of the embryos that reached the 2-cell stage became morula or blastocysts. An average of 6.3+/-3.2 total in vitro fertilized embryos per cow were obtained (range 2 to 11). Maturation of bovine oocytes in vitro for 18 or 24 hours did not influence the percentage of cleaved embryos (71.0 and 75.9%, respectively) or that developed to the blastocyst stage (25.6 and 24.2%, respectively). The use of reindeer blood serum for in vitro culture of immature bovine oocytes and of dividing of embryos gave the following results: 57.4% of the oocytes cleaved after fertilization and 16.2% developed further to the blastocyst stage. In contrast in the control group, where cow serum was used, the values were 73.4% and 24.8%, respectively. Rabbit oviduct epithelium cell monolayers were able to support the development of 16.3% of the cleaved bovine embryos to the blastocyst stage as compared with 24.0% of the embryos on cow oviduct epithelium cell monolayers. After nonsurgical transplantation, 12 calves were produced from 91 in vitro fertilized embryos.     

Culture media for mouse oocyte maturation affect subsequent embryonic development

These experiments were done to determine whether the culture medium used for the spontaneous maturation of mouse oocytes can affect the subsequent capacity of the ova to become fertilized and complete preimplantation development in vitro and development to live young. Oocytes obtained from antral follicles of gonadotropin-primed immature mice underwent spontaneous maturation in control medium, i.e. Eagle's Minimum Essential Medium (MEM) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum, or in one of eight different media which were also supplemented with serum. All of the ova were fertilized in Whitten's medium and were assessed for cleavage to the 2-cell stage and for further preimplantation development to blastocysts during culture in Whitten's medium. Three of the eight media used for oocyte maturation improved the capacity of the ova to develop to the blastocyst stage when compared with the control: Waymouth MB 752/1, MEM with non-essential amino acids, and MEM Alpha; Waymouth medium promoted the highest frequency of development of ova to the blastocyst stage. Moreover, the blastocysts derived from oocytes that matured in Waymouth medium contained more cells than blastocysts derived from oocytes that matured in control medium. Although BGJb medium promoted the cleavage of eggs to the 2-cell stage when present during oocyte maturation, it had a detrimental effect on their subsequent preimplantation developmental capacity. Following transfer to foster mothers, more 2-cell stage embryos developed to live young after oocyte maturation in Waymouth medium (21%) than in control medium (13%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)