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Serum free embryo culture medium improves in vitro survival of bovine blastocysts to vitrification

2008; Elsevier BV; Volume: 69; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.theriogenology.2007.12.015

1879-3231

E. Gómez, Aida Rodríguez, M. Muñoz, J. N. Caamaño, C.O. Hidalgo, E. Morán, N. Facal, C. Dı́ez,

Sperm and Testicular Function

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of co-culture with Vero cells during the in vitro maturation (IVM) and three culture media, B2 + 5% fetal calf serum (FCS) on Vero cells, synthetic oviduct fluid (SOF) + 5% FCS, and SOF + 20 g L−1 bovine serum albumin (BSA), on the developmental competence of the embryos and their ability to survive vitrification/warming. We also tested the effect of morphological quality and the age of the embryo on its sensitivity to vitrification. The IVM system neither affects the embryo development up to Day 7 nor survival rates after vitrification. The culture of embryos in SOF + FCS and in Vero cells + B2 allowed obtaining more Day 6 and Day 7 blastocysts, and a higher % of Day 7 blastocysts vitrified than culture in SOF + BSA. Contrarily, on Day 8, more blastocysts were vitrified in SOF + BSA than in SOF + FCS. Blastocysts quality affected development after vitrification/warming, and Day 7 embryos showed higher survival rates than their Day 8 counterparts. Day 7 blastocysts produced in Vero cells or in SOF + BSA survived at higher rates than those produced in SOF + FCS at 24 and 48 h after warming. Embryo culture with BSA allows obtaining hatching rates after vitrification/warming higher than those obtained after co-culture with Vero cells in B2 and FCS. Moreover, this system provides hatching rates from Day 8 blastocysts comparable to those obtained on Day 7 in Vero cells. Further studies, including embryo transfer to recipients, are needed to clarify factors affecting the freezability of in vitro produced bovine embryos.