Oocyte secreted factors improve embryo developmental competence of COCs from small follicles in prepubertal goats

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 15 in the Pro-Mature Complex Form Enhances Bovine Oocyte Developmental Competence

“…as secreted by oocytes) or as recombinant growth factors [1]. It is now a well-known concept that co-culture of denuded oocytes (as a source of native exogenous OSFs) with COCs improves developmental competence of mouse [39], pig [48], cattle [35], [37], [38], [49] and goat [50] IVM oocytes. However, a full characterisation of the forms and indeed the complete identities of native OSFs has not been undertaken.…”

Improved implantation and ongoing pregnancy rates after single-embryo transfer with an optimized protocol for in vitro oocyte maturation in women with polycystic ovaries and polycystic ovary syndrome

“…This may mean that the oocytes collected have attained a higher level of competence with improved embryonic potential. A number of investigators (36)(37)(38) have shown that the size of the follicle is important in the competence of the oocytes. Others (18,27,29) believe that it is important to aspirate follicles at a smaller size, particularly smaller than 10 mm, before the dominant follicle has been recruited.…”

Embryo splitting affects the transcriptome during elongation stage of in vitro–produced bovine blastocysts

“…It has been determined that pregnancy accomplishment depends on embryo quality and of the uterine environment. In fact, in naturally occurring conceptions, embryonic loss is mostly attributed to maternal conditions, such as nutritional factors, animal age, stress, and uterine infections, than to embryo quality [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In contrast, IVP embryos have a reduced developmental potential, resulting in low implantation rates and an increase in the frequency of early pregnancy loss, due to abnormalities in the embryo and improper placentation [9].…”