Molecular signatures of bovine embryo developmental competence

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hoelker ◽  
E. Held ◽  
D. Salilew-Wondim ◽  
K. Schellander ◽  
D. Tesfaye
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Molecular Signature ◽  
Bovine Embryo ◽  
Molecular Signatures ◽  
Bovine Embryos ◽  
Morphological Criteria ◽  
Developmental Capacity ◽  
New Strategies

Assessment of the developmental capacity of early bovine embryos is still an obstacle. Therefore, the present paper reviews all current knowledge with respect to morphological criteria and environmental factors that affect embryo quality. The molecular signature of an oocyte or embryo is considered to reflect its quality and to predict its subsequent developmental capacity. Therefore, the primary aim of the present review is to provide an overview of reported correlations between molecular signatures and developmental competence. A secondary aim of this paper is to present some new strategies to enable concomitant evaluation of the molecular signatures of specific embryos and individual developmental capacity.

scholarly journals Cytokines That Serve as Embryokines in Cattle

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2313
Author(s):  
Alan D. Ealy ◽  
Savannah L. Speckhart ◽  
Lydia K. Wooldridge
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Development ◽  
Interleukin 6 ◽  
Fetal Development ◽  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Bovine Embryo ◽  
Colony Stimulating Factor ◽  
Bovine Embryos ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Stimulating Factor

The term “embryokine” has been used to denote molecules produced by the endometrium, oviduct, or by embryo itself that will influence embryo development. Several cytokines have been identified as embryokines in cattle and other mammals. This review will describe how these cytokines function as embryokines, with special emphasis being placed on their actions on in vitro produced (IVP) bovine embryos. Embryokines are being explored for their ability to overcome the poor development rates of IVP embryos and to limit post-transfer pregnancy retention efficiencies that exist in IVP embryos. This review will focus on describing two of the best-characterized cytokines, colony-stimulating factor 2 and interleukin 6, for their ability to modify bovine embryo quality and confirmation, promote normal fetal development, and generate healthy calves. Additional cytokines will also be discussed for their potential to serve as embryokines.

Recycling bovine embryos for nuclear transfer

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teija T. Peura ◽  
Alan O. Trounson
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Bovine Embryo ◽  
Third Generation ◽  
Bovine Embryos ◽  
Serial Transfer ◽  
Donor Nucleus

The terms recycling and serial transfer refer to the use of cells from nuclear transfer embryos as a source of donor nuclei for a subsequent round of nuclear transfer. This approach has two benefits: improved reprogramming of the donor nucleus and an increase in absolute numbers of identical offspring. The beneficial effect of sequential exposure of donor nuclei to the early cytoplasm has been proven in several species, including amphibia, mice and cattle. Transferable embryos and live offspring have also been obtained from cattle and goat embryos produced by three and five rounds of nuclear transfer respectively. Although the limits to recycling have not been determined, embryonic development has been obtained from up to 10 cycles of nuclear transfer. Our results do not indicate differences in the embryonic developmental competence between clones from three generations in bovine embryo recycling. Although one live offspring from the second generation and pregnancies from third generation clones have been obtained, overall lower pregnancy rates and higher fetal losses than from first generation clones have been observed. Application of a novel vitrification method to nuclear transfer recycling removes many of the practical limitations of the technology.

scholarly journals Rescue Potential of Supportive Embryo Culture Conditions on Bovine Embryos Derived from Metabolically Compromised Oocytes

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 8206
Author(s):  
Anouk Smits ◽  
Jo L. M. R. Leroy ◽  
Peter E. J. Bols ◽  
Jessie De Bie ◽  
Waleed F. A. Marei
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Culture ◽  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Cellular Metabolism ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Bovine Embryos ◽  
The Impact

Elevated non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), predominantly palmitic acid (PA), concentrations in blood and follicular fluid are a common feature in maternal metabolic disorders such as obesity. This has a direct negative impact on oocyte developmental competence and the resulting blastocyst quality. We use NEFA-exposure during bovine oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) as a model to mimic oocyte maturation under maternal metabolic stress conditions. However, the impact of supportive embryo culture conditions on these metabolically compromised zygotes are not known yet. We investigated if the addition of anti-apoptotic, antioxidative and mitogenic factors (namely, Insulin-Transferrin-Selenium (ITS) or serum) to embryo culture media would rescue development and important embryo quality parameters (cell proliferation, apoptosis, cellular metabolism and gene expression patterns) of bovine embryos derived from high PA- or high NEFA-exposed oocytes when compared to controls (exposed to basal NEFA concentrations). ITS supplementation during in vitro culture of PA-exposed oocytes supported the development of lower quality embryos during earlier development. However, surviving blastocysts were of inferior quality. In contrast, addition of serum to the culture medium did not improve developmental competence of PA-exposed oocytes. Furthermore, surviving embryos displayed higher apoptotic cell indices and an aberrant cellular metabolism. We conclude that some supportive embryo culture supplements like ITS and serum may increase IVF success rates of metabolically compromised oocytes but this may increase the risk of reduced embryo quality and may thus have other long-term consequences.

Non-invasive mitochondrial DNA quantification on Day 3 predicts blastocyst development: a prospective, blinded, multi-centric study

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 527-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Stigliani ◽  
Giovanna Orlando ◽  
Claudia Massarotti ◽  
Ida Casciano ◽  
Francesca Bovis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Embryo Morphology ◽  
Blastocyst Development ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Morphological Criteria

AbstractIn ART, embryo quality evaluation is routinely based on morphological criteria. We previously demonstrated that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)/genomic DNA (gDNA) ratio in culture medium was significantly associated with embryo quality and viability potential. The purpose of this prospective, blinded, multi-centric study was to validate the use of mtDNA/gDNA ratio in Day 3 spent medium as a predictor of human embryo developmental competence. The mtDNA/gDNA ratio was assessed in Day 3 culture media (n=484) of embryos from 143 patients by quantitative PCR. A mixed effect logistic regression model was applied. We found that mtDNA/gDNA ratio in Day 3 culture medium combined with embryo morphology improves the prediction upon blastulation compared to morphology alone (P < 0.0001), independent of patient and cycle characteristics. With regard to routine use in clinics, we evaluated the ability of the novel, combined grading score to improve selection of developmentally competent embryos of a single cohort. Including embryos from 44 patients, the sensibility and specificity of the scoring system based on Day 3 morphological stage were 92% and 13%, respectively. Integration with the culture medium mtDNA/gDNA ratio increased the performance of the method (sensibility: 95%; specificity: 65%). The results of this study suggest the possibility of carrying out a non-invasive evaluation of embryonic mtDNA content through the culture medium. When combined with embryo morphology, it has the potential to help embryologists rank embryos and choose which embryo(s) has the greater development potential, and thus should be transferred on Day 3, among sibling embryos with the same morphological grade.

scholarly journals Exploiting Microfluidics for Extracellular Vesicle Isolation and Characterization: Potential Use for Standardized Embryo Quality Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahram Talebjedi ◽  
Nishat Tasnim ◽  
Mina Hoorfar ◽  
Gabriela F. Mastromonaco ◽  
Marcia De Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Extracellular Vesicle ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Embryo Selection ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
User Friendly

Recent decades have seen a growing interest in the study of extracellular vesicles (EVs), driven by their role in cellular communication, and potential as biomarkers of health and disease. Although it is known that embryos secrete EVs, studies on the importance of embryonic EVs are still very limited. This limitation is due mainly to small sample volumes, with low EV concentrations available for analysis, and to laborious, costly and time-consuming procedures for isolating and evaluating EVs. In this respect, microfluidics technologies represent a promising avenue for optimizing the isolation and characterization of embryonic EVs. Despite significant improvements in microfluidics for EV isolation and characterization, the use of EVs as markers of embryo quality has been held back by two key challenges: (1) the lack of specific biomarkers of embryo quality, and (2) the limited number of studies evaluating the content of embryonic EVs across embryos with varying developmental competence. Our core aim in this review is to identify the critical challenges of EV isolation and to provide seeds for future studies to implement the profiling of embryonic EVs as a diagnostic test for embryo selection. We first summarize the conventional methods for isolating EVs and contrast these with the most promising microfluidics methods. We then discuss current knowledge of embryonic EVs and their potential role as biomarkers of embryo quality. Finally, we identify key ways in which microfluidics technologies could allow researchers to overcome the challenges of embryonic EV isolation and be used as a fast, user-friendly tool for non-invasive embryo selection.

scholarly journals Histone deacetylase inhibitor during in vitro maturation decreases developmental capacity of bovine oocytes

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0247518
Author(s):  
Thais Preisser Pontelo ◽  
Mauricio Machaim Franco ◽  
Taynan Stonoga Kawamoto ◽  
Felippe Manoel Costa Caixeta ◽  
Ligiane de Oliveira Leme ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Development ◽  
In Vitro Maturation ◽  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Cumulus Cells ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Nuclear Maturation ◽  
Deacetylase Inhibitor ◽  
Developmental Capacity ◽  
Bovine Oocytes

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of scriptaid during pre-maturation (PIVM) and/or maturation (IVM) on developmental competence of bovine oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were submitted to PIVM for 6 h in the presence or absence of scriptaid. COCs were distributed into five groups: T1-IVM for 22 h, T2-PIVM for 6 h and IVM for 22 h, T3-PIVM with scriptaid for 6 h and IVM for 22 h, T4-PIVM for 6 h and IVM with scriptaid for 22 h, and T5-PIVM with scriptaid for 6 h and IVM with scriptaid for 22 h. Nuclear maturation, gene expression, cumulus cells (CCs) expansion, and embryo development and quality were evaluated. At the end of maturation, all groups presented the majority of oocytes in MII (P>0.05). Only HAT1 gene was differentially expressed (P<0.01) in oocytes with different treatments. Regarding embryo development at D7, T4 (23%) and T5 (18%) had lower blastocyst rate (P<0.05) than the other treatments (T1 = 35%, T2 = 37% and T3 = 32%). No effect was observed when scriptaid in PIVM was used in less competent oocytes (P>0.05). In conclusion, presence of scriptaid in PIVM and/or IVM did not improve developmental competence or embryo quality.

77 EFFECT OF HEAT SHOCK DURING IN VITRO MATURATION ON HETEROCHROMATIN COMPACTION IN BOVINE EMBRYOS AT 4- AND 8-CELL STAGES: PRELIMINARY STUDY

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
L. S. A. Camargo ◽  
T. Aguirre-Lavin ◽  
P. Adenot ◽  
T. D. Araujo ◽  
E. D. Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
In Vitro Maturation ◽  
Gene Activation ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Bovine Embryos ◽  
Cleavage Rate ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Morphological Criteria ◽  
Preliminary Study

High temperatures cause several reproductive losses in cattle. Under in vitro conditions, heat shock decreases oocyte developmental competence and influences embryonic gene expression (Gendelman and Roth 2012 Anim. Reprod. Sci. 134, 125–134). This preliminary study aimed to evaluate whether heat shock during oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) could have any further effect on chromatin remodelling of fertilized embryos at 4- and 8-cell stages, once such modifications are required for the gene activation in bovine embryos. We evaluated the distribution of heterochromatin 1 (HP1β) and of histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 9 (H3K9me3), both reportedly correlated with heterochromatin formation, in 4- and 8-cell stage embryos derived from control (C) and heat-shocked (HS) bovine oocytes. Immature cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) collected from crossbred cows in Brazil were exposed for 12 h to 38.8°C (C group) or 41.0°C (HS group) followed by 12 h at 38.8°C, totalizing 24 h of IVM at 5% CO2 in air. Oocytes were in vitro fertilized (IVF) with non-sexed sperm and denuded zygotes were in vitro cultured in CR2aa medium at 38.8°C and 5% CO2, 5% O2 and 90% N2. Four- and 8-cell embryos at 44 h post-IVF were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and stained with anti-mouse HP1β and anti-rabbit H3K9me3 first antibodies. Immunofluorescence was evaluated by confocal microscopy (Zeiss LSM 700, MIMA platform, INRA) and 3D images processed by ZEN Lite software (Zeiss, Jena, Germany). Three different distribution patterns of fluorescence were identified based on morphological criteria: diffuse, little clusters, and big clusters. Proportions of embryos in every distribution pattern were compared between C and HS groups by Chi-squared test. No difference (P > 0.05) on cleavage rate was found between C and HS groups until 44 h post-fertilization. Embryos at the 4-cell stage from HS group displayed an increased (P < 0.01) proportion of nuclei with H3K9m3 big clusters (44%, n = 7/16 embryos), whereas embryos from C group displayed only few nuclei with this pattern (5%, n = 1/18). At the 8-cell stage, distribution of H3K9m3 was similar (P > 0.05) between C and HS groups. For HP1β, embryos at the 4-cell stage from HS group displayed an increased (P < 0.05) proportion of nuclei with little clusters (81%, n = 13/16 embryos), whereas embryos from C group had low proportion of nuclei with this same pattern (40%, n = 7/18). Mostly 4-cell stage embryos from C group presented the diffuse pattern (61%, n = 11/18 v.18%, n = 3/16 in the HS group; P < 0.05). At the 8-cell stage, some embryos from the C group (31%, n = 5/16) still showed nuclei with diffuse distribution of HP1β, whereas no nucleus with this pattern was found for the HS group. These preliminary data suggest that bovine embryos derived from heat-shocked oocytes can display precocious heterochromatin compaction, represented by the accumulation of H3K9me3 and HP1β at the 4-cell stage, compared with embryos derived from non-heat-shocked oocytes, which may affect embryonic genome activation with consequences for further gene expression.Research was supported by CNPq, FAPEMIG, FAPES and Laboratoire d'Excellence Revive (Investissement d'Avenir, ANR-10-LABX-73).

145 CHANGES IN OXYGEN COMSUMPTION RATES OF EMBRYOS IN KOREAN CATTLE

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
C. Y. Choe ◽  
S. R. Cho ◽  
J. K. Son ◽  
S. H. Choi ◽  
C. Y. Cho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Blastocyst Stage ◽  
Bovine Embryo ◽  
Bovine Embryos ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Morula Stage

Oxygen consumption has been regarded as a useful indicator for assessment of mammalian embryo quality. This study was carried out to identify whether oxygen consumption rates measured in bovine embryos using SECM can be used as a standard criteria to evaluate bovine embryo quality. Oxygen consumption of bovine embryos at various developmental stages was measured and analyzed using SECM and ANOVA analysis, respectively. We found that the oxygen consumption significantly increased in blastocyst-stage embryos compared to other stage embryos (from 2-cell stage to morula stage), indicating that oxygen consumption reflects the cell number (5.2-7.6 × 1014 mol-1 s-1 v. 1.2-2.4 × 1014 mol-1 s-1, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between 2-cell-stage embryos and 8-cell-stage embryos. In the morula-stage embryos, the oxygen consumption of in vivo derived embryos was significantly higher than that of in vitro produced embryos (4.0 × 1014 mol-1 s-1 v. 2.4 × 1014 mol-1 s-1, P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in consumption of oxygen by in vivo and in vitro derived bovine blastocyst-stage embryos (P > 0.05). Good-quality embryos with grade 1 or 2 showed significantly higher oxygen consumption than grade 3 or 4 embryos. These results showed that SECM could measure oxygen consumption in bovine embryos and the oxygen consumption could reflect embryonic development stage and embryo quality.

26 Season affects cryotolerance of in vitro-produced buffalo embryos

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Kosior ◽  
E. Parente ◽  
F. Salerno ◽  
K. Annes ◽  
R. Annunziata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stage ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Embryo Quality ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Oocyte Quality ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Seasonal Effect ◽  
Morphological Criteria ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Buffaloes are tendentially short-day breeders, and seasonality is one of the main factors affecting the feasibility of ovum pickup and in vitro embryo production technology in this species. An improvement of oocyte developmental competence during decreasing daylight months was previously reported in Italian Mediterranean buffalo (Di Francesco et al. 2011 Anim. Reprod. Sci. 123, 48-53). The aim of this work was to evaluate whether season also affects embryo quality and cryotolerance. Abattoir-derived buffalo cumulus-oocyte complexes were collected during the breeding season, characterised by decreasing daylight length (n=349 over 6 replicates), and the non-breeding season, characterised by increasing daylight length (n=770 over 12 replicates). Buffalo cumulus-oocyte complexes were in vitro matured, fertilized, and cultured according to standard procedures (Di Francesco et al. 2011 Anim. Reprod. Sci. 123, 48-53). The embryos obtained by the end of culture (i.e. on Day 7 post-IVF) were scored for quality and developmental stage, and the percentages of total transferable embryos (tight morulae and blastocysts) were recorded. Embryos (n=107 and 110 in the breeding and non-breeding seasons, respectively) were vitrified by cryotop in 16.5% ethylene glycol, 16.5% dimethyl sulfoxide, and 0.5M sucrose (Boccia et al. 2013 Ital. J. Anim. Sci. 12, 492-496). Warming was carried out by plunging the cryotop strip into a 0.25M sucrose solution and transferring the embryos into 0.15M sucrose for 5min. Embryos were then washed and cultured in SOF for 24h to evaluate post-culture viability. The resistance to cryopreservation was evaluated by assessing the survival rate, on the basis of morphological criteria, and development rate (i.e. the percentage of embryos that resumed their development and reached a more advanced developmental stage) after 24h post-warming culture. Data were analysed by Student’s t-test. Both cleavage (82.8±4.3v. 73.1±1.7 in the breeding and non-breeding seasons, respectively; P&lt;0.05) and blastocyst (32.9±3.5v. 18.3±1.7 in the breeding and non-breeding seasons, respectively; P&lt;0.01) rates increased during the breeding season, confirming previous observations. Due to the different efficiency, a higher number of replicates was required during the non-breeding season to obtain an equal number of embryos. In addition, a seasonal effect was recorded on embryo quality, indicated by poorer cryotolerance of in vitro-produced buffalo embryos during the non-breeding season. Indeed, both survival (94.6±2.7% and 74.0±5.5% in the breeding and non-breeding seasons, respectively; P&lt;0.01) and development (67.3±7.6% and 40.0±7.2% in the breeding and non-breeding seasons, respectively; P&lt;0.01) rates of vitrified blastocysts decreased after 24h post-warming culture in the non-breeding season. These findings suggest that the reduced developmental competence of buffalo oocytes during the non-breeding season may also lead to lower blastocyst quality. This is in contrast to the evidence in cattle that embryo quality is mainly determined by culture conditions, whereas blastocyst production depends on oocyte quality.

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