Positive effect of taurine on preimplantation development of mouse embryos in vitro

Abstract

The effect of various taurine concentrations in modified Tyrode's medium on in vitro fertilization of mouse oocytes was examined. No significant difference in fertilization rate was found at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1, 5, 10 and 20 mM taurine. In a second series of experiments, the effect of taurine on preimplantation embryonic development after fertilization in vitro was studied. At concentrations of 1, 5, 10 and 20 mM taurine, significantly more two-cell embryos reached the blastocyst stage compared with medium without taurine. Culture in the presence of 5 mM or 10 mM taurine resulted in blastocysts with the highest mean number of cells. The positive effect of taurine on embryonic development was found to be more pronounced both in a second medium (human tubal fluid medium) which has a higher potassium concentration than Tyrode's medium, and in a modified Tyrode's medium with an increased potassium concentration. In addition to these in vitro studies, it is reported that taurine comprised about 59% of the total free amino acid content in mouse oviduct flushings, compared with 17% in mouse serum.

Effects of Glutamine, Glycine and Taurine on the Development of In Vitro Fertilized Bovine Zygotes in a Chemically Defined Medium.

“…It is likely that 10 mM of glycine might be too high to support the development of embryos at the oviductal stage, but glycine could enhance the development of uterine stage embryos under the present culture conditions. Supplementation of media with taurine has been demonstrated to enhance in vitro development of mouse [5,26], hamster [17], rabbit [13], pig [24], and cattle embryos [16]. Most of these studies have performed embryo culture in a gas atmosphere of 5% CO 2 in air (approximately 20% …”

Immunohistochemical Localization of Taurine in the Rat Ovary, Oviduct, and Uterus

“…In accord with this notion, it has been shown that taurine comprises about 59% of the total free amino acid content in the mouse oviduct fluid, whereas it represents 17% in mouse serum (Dumoulin et al 1992). Furthermore, taurine/hypotaurine enhances preimplantation embryonic development after in vitro fertilization (Barnett and Bavister 1992;Dumoulin et al 1992). In relation to this functional role of taurine, a critical influence of the oviduct within the first hours of embryo development has been suggested (Barnett and Bavister 1992).…”

“…In this sense, it has been reported that taurine is synthesized by oviduct cells via the cysteine sulfinate decarboxylase pathway, and it is secreted into the oviduct fluid . In accord with this notion, it has been shown that taurine comprises about 59% of the total free amino acid content in the mouse oviduct fluid, whereas it represents 17% in mouse serum (Dumoulin et al 1992). Furthermore, taurine/hypotaurine enhances preimplantation embryonic development after in vitro fertilization (Barnett and Bavister 1992;Dumoulin et al 1992).…”

“…Taurine might also modify sperm phospholipid methyltransferase activity, and inhibits sperm plasma membrane Na ϩ ,K ϩ -ATPase (Mrsny and Meizel 1985;LLanos and Ronco 1994). Moreover, taurine is the predominant amino acid in genital secretions, including seminal, uterine, and oviduct fluids (Casslen 1987;Dumoulin et al 1992;. It has been demonstrated that the ovary contains the mRNA of a taurine transporter (Jhiang et al 1993), and the rat oviduct contains up to 10 mol taurine/g tissue (Orensanz et al 1986).…”

The Future of Human Embryo Culture Media – Or Have We Reached the Ceiling?

“…During this process hypotaurine is converted to taurine which then has further antioxidant effects by neutralising cytotoxic aldehydes. Hypotaurine has been added to culture media demonstrating beneficial effects on blastocyst development in a variety of species including the human (Barnett and Bavister 1992;Devreker and Hardy 1997;Dumoulin et al 1992) and is frequently seen in bovine embryo culture media.…”