Successful blastocyst production by intracytoplasmic injection of sperm after <i>in vitro</i> maturation of follicular oocytes obtained from immature female squirrel monkeys (<i>Saimiri boliviensis</i>)

Abstract

Advanced reproductive technologies are being applied for the propagation of squirrel monkeys, to ensure their preservation as a genetic resource and the effective use of their gametes in the future. In the present study, oocytes and spermatozoa were collected from live squirrel monkeys, following which piezo intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was performed using these gametes. Follicular development was induced by administering equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) containing inhibin antiserum to an immature squirrel monkey female. The unilateral ovary was excised after the administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), to induce ovulation, following which the larger developed follicular oocytes were collected. Follicular oocytes were prepared for ICSI using sperm from the epididymal tail of a unilateral testis extracted from a mature male. The embryos were continuously incubated in CMRL 1066 medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum. Embryo culture was performed with cumulus cells. Two experiments of ICSI carried out with three females resulted in 14 mature oocytes from the 49 cumulus-oocyte complexes collected and five embryos, three of which developed into blastocysts. These blastocysts were vitrified, thawed, and transferred to recipient monkeys, but no pregnancies resulted. In conclusion, the present study is the first to successfully produce ICSI-derived blastocysts from MII oocytes obtained by means of hormone administration (a combination of eCG+inhibin antiserum and hCG) and in vitro maturation in immature squirrel monkeys.

Supplementation with kaempferol relieves oxidative stress and enhances development of early bovine embryos in vitro

“…In conclusion, the present investigations have empirically confirmed the remarkable role of KAE as not only ectopic anti‐oxidative and anti‐apoptotic compound but also its function as a non‐selective inhibitory agent for HDAC activities in bovine IVF‐generated embryos. Taking this fact into account, the beneficial action of KAE might be extrapolated to the improvements of in vitro developmental outcome, quality and epigenetic reprogramming of nuclear genomes in bovine and other mammalian IVP‐derived embryos that have been propagated by such modern assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (Ribas‐Maynou et al, 2020; Tsampras et al, 2022; Watanabe et al, 2021)，ovum pick‐up‐in vitro production (OPU‐IVP) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)‐based cloning(Cao et al, 2019; Gao et al, 2022; Samiec & Skrzyszowska, 2021; Wiater et al, 2021).…”