1
|
Exogenous Melatonin in the Culture Medium Does Not Affect the Development of In Vivo-Derived Pig Embryos but Substantially Improves the Quality of In Vitro-Produced Embryos. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11061177. [PMID: 35740074 PMCID: PMC9220299 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11061177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cloned and transgenic pigs are relevant human disease models and serve as potential donors for regenerative medicine and xenotransplantation. These technologies demand oocytes and embryos of good quality. However, the current protocols for in vitro production (IVP) of pig embryos give reduced blastocyst efficiency and embryo quality compared to in vivo controls. This is likely due to culture conditions jeopardizing embryonic homeostasis including the effect of reactive oxygen species (ROS) influence. In this study, the antioxidant melatonin (1 nM) in the maturation medium, fertilization medium, or both media was ineffective in enhancing fertilization or embryonic development parameters of in vitro fertilized oocytes. Supplementation of melatonin in the fertilization medium also had no effect on sperm function. In contrast, the addition of melatonin to the embryo culture medium accelerated the timing of embryonic development and increased the percentages of cleaved embryos and presumed zygotes that developed to the blastocyst stage. Furthermore, it increased the number of inner mass cells and the inner mass cell/total cell number ratio per blastocyst while increasing intracellular glutathione and reducing ROS and DNA damage levels in embryos. Contrarily, the addition of melatonin to the embryo culture medium had no evident effect on in vivo-derived embryos, including the developmental capacity and the quality of in vivo-derived 4-cell embryos or the percentage of genome-edited in vivo-derived zygotes achieving the blastocyst stage. In conclusion, exogenous melatonin in the embryo culture medium enhances the development and quality of in vitro-derived embryos but not in in vivo-derived embryos. Exogenous melatonin is thus recommended during embryo culture of oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro for improving porcine IVP efficiency.
Collapse
|
2
|
Xingzhu D, Qingrui Z, Keren C, Yuxi L, Yunpeng H, Shien Z, Xiangwei F. Cryopreservation of Porcine Embryos: Recent Updates and Progress. Biopreserv Biobank 2021; 19:210-218. [PMID: 33625892 DOI: 10.1089/bio.2020.0074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cryopreservation of embryos is important for long-distance embryo transfer and conservation of genetic resources. Porcine research is important for animal husbandry and biomedical research. However, porcine embryos are difficult to cryopreserve because of their high cytoplasmic lipid content and sensitivity to chilling stress. Vitrification is more efficient than slow freezing, and vitrification is mostly used in embryo cryopreservation. So far, the vitrification process of porcine embryos has been continuously improved, resulting in improved survival rates of warmed embryos and farrowing rates after the transplant procedure. It is worth noting that automatic vitrification has made great progress, which is expected to promote the standardization and application of vitrification. In this article, the vitrification process of porcine embryos at the blastula stage and early development stages is reviewed in detail. In addition, the efficiency of different vitrification systems was compared. In addition, we summarize technology that can improve the survival rate of cryopreserved porcine embryos, such as delipidation methods (including physical delipidation and chemical delipidation) and medium improvements (including chemically defined media and adding antioxidants). Meanwhile, gene expression changes during cryopreservation are also elaborated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Du Xingzhu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuan Qingrui
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Cheng Keren
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Luo Yuxi
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Hou Yunpeng
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhu Shien
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Fu Xiangwei
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Martinez EA, Martinez CA, Cambra JM, Maside C, Lucas X, Vazquez JL, Vazquez JM, Roca J, Rodriguez-Martinez H, Gil MA, Parrilla I, Cuello C. Achievements and future perspectives of embryo transfer technology in pigs. Reprod Domest Anim 2020; 54 Suppl 4:4-13. [PMID: 31625238 DOI: 10.1111/rda.13465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Commercial embryo transfer (ET) has unprecedented productive and economic implications for the pig sector. However, pig ET has been considered utopian for decades mainly because of the requirements of surgical techniques for embryo collection and embryo deposition into recipients, alongside challenges to preserve embryos. This situation has drastically changed in the last decade since the current technology allows non-surgical ET and short- and long-term embryo preservation. Here, we provide a brief review of the improvements in porcine ET achieved by our laboratory in the past 20 years. This review includes several aspects of non-surgical ET technology and different issues affecting ET programmes and embryo preservation systems. The future perspectives of ET technology are also considered. We will refer only to embryos produced in vivo since they are the only type of embryos with possible short-term use in pig production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emilio A Martinez
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Cristina A Martinez
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine (IKE), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Josep M Cambra
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Carolina Maside
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Xiomara Lucas
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jose L Vazquez
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Juan Maria Vazquez
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jordi Roca
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | | | - Maria Antonia Gil
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Parrilla
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| | - Cristina Cuello
- Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.,Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia (IMIB-Arrixaca), El Palmar, Murcia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gil MA, Martinez CA, Nohalez A, Parrilla I, Roca J, Wu J, Ross PJ, Cuello C, Izpisua JC, Martinez EA. Developmental competence of porcine genome-edited zygotes. Mol Reprod Dev 2017; 84:814-821. [PMID: 28471514 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 04/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Genome editing in pigs has tremendous practical applications for biomedicine. The advent of genome editing technology, with its use of site-specific nucleases-including ZFNs, TALENs, and the CRISPR/Cas9 system-has popularized targeted zygote genome editing via one-step microinjection in several mammalian species. Here, we review methods to optimize the developmental competence of genome-edited porcine embryos and strategies to improve the zygote genome-editing efficiency in pigs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Gil
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Cristina A Martinez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Alicia Nohalez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Parrilla
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jordi Roca
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jun Wu
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California
| | - Pablo J Ross
- Department of Animal Science, UC Davis, Davis, California
| | - Cristina Cuello
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Juan C Izpisua
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California
| | - Emilio A Martinez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Cuello C, Martinez CA, Nohalez A, Parrilla I, Roca J, Gil MA, Martinez EA. Effective vitrification and warming of porcine embryos using a pH-stable, chemically defined medium. Sci Rep 2016; 6:33915. [PMID: 27666294 PMCID: PMC5036199 DOI: 10.1038/srep33915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of pH-stable media would simplify embryo vitrification and the warming of porcine embryos and might facilitate the application of embryo transfer in practice. In this work, we investigated whether a pH-stable basal medium constituted of Tyrode’s lactate medium, polyvinyl alcohol, and HEPES for buffering was suitable for porcine embryo vitrification warming in place of the conventional gas-equilibrated media. A high percentage (>90%) of embryos survived vitrification and warming in this medium, achieving in vitro survival rates similar to embryos vitrified-warmed using the conventional protocol and their fresh counterparts. The pH-stable medium did not affect the in vivo developmental competence of the vitrified-warmed embryos. A farrowing rate of 71.4% (5/7) with 10.4 ± 3.1 piglets born was obtained for the embryos vitrified and warmed in this medium and transferred to selected recipients. This medium will enable the use of simple, safe and standardized protocols for the vitrification and warming of porcine embryos for optimal embryo survival and quality when applied under field conditions. This study opens new possibilities for the widespread use of embryo transfer in pigs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Cuello
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, E-3100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Cristina A Martinez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, E-3100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Alicia Nohalez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, E-3100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Parrilla
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, E-3100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jordi Roca
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, E-3100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Maria A Gil
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, E-3100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Emilio A Martinez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, E-3100, Murcia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Cryotop vitrification of porcine parthenogenetic embryos at the early developmental stages. Theriogenology 2016; 85:434-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2015] [Revised: 09/03/2015] [Accepted: 09/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|
7
|
Martinez EA, Cuello C, Parrilla I, Martinez CA, Nohalez A, Vazquez JL, Vazquez JM, Roca J, Gil MA. Recent advances toward the practical application of embryo transfer in pigs. Theriogenology 2015; 85:152-61. [PMID: 26164803 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2015] [Revised: 06/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Porcine embryo transfer (ET) technology has been in demand for decades because of its potential to provide considerable improvements in pig production with important sanitary, economic, and animal welfare benefits. Despite these advantages, the commercial use of ET is practically nonexistent. However, the two main obstacles hindering the commercial use of ET in pigs in the past several decades (i.e., surgical transfer and embryo preservation) have recently been overcome. A technique for nonsurgical deep-uterine (NsDU) ET of nonsedated gilts and sows, which was seemingly an impossible challenge just a few years ago, is a reality today. The improvements in embryo preservation that have been achieved in recent years and the excellent reproductive performance of the recipients after the NsDU-ET technique coupled with short-term and long-term-stored embryos represent essential progress for the international trade of porcine embryos and the practical use of ET by the pig industry. This review focuses, with an emphasis on our own findings, on the recent advances in embryo preservation and NsDU-ET technologies, which are starting to show potential for application under field conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emilio A Martinez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
| | - Cristina Cuello
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Inmaculada Parrilla
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Cristina A Martinez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Alicia Nohalez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jose L Vazquez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Juan M Vazquez
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Jordi Roca
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Maria A Gil
- Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|