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Arroyo-Salvo C, Cogollo Villarreal MY, Clérico G, Flores Bragulat AP, Niño Vargas A, Castañeira C, Briski O, Alonso C, Plaza J, Zeledon JM, Losinno L, Miragaya M, Sansinena M, Martinez SP, Gambini A. The ability of donkey sperm to induce oocyte activation and mule embryo development after ICSI. Theriogenology 2024; 218:200-207. [PMID: 38335707 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Members of the Equus genus exhibit a fascinating capacity for hybridization, giving rise to healthy offspring. Mules, resulting from the mating of a mare with a jack, represent the most prevalent equid hybrid, serving diverse roles in our society. While in vitro embryo production, particularly through Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), has rapidly gained significance in domestic horses, the in vitro production in other equids remains largely unexplored. Utilizing donkey sperm for fertilizing horse oocytes not only addresses this gap but also provides an opportunity to investigate donkey sperm's fertilization capability in vitro to further improve donkey ICSI. In this work, we initially studied the localization of donkey sperm Phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ) and assessed the sperm's capacity to induce pronuclear formation and maternal SMARCA4 recruitment upon injection into pig oocytes through ICSI. Subsequently, we investigated the injection of donkey sperm into horse oocytes, evaluating in vitro production up to the blastocyst stage using sperm from different jacks, including frozen and refrigerated samples. Distinct patterns of PLCζ localization were observed for donkey sperm cells compared to their horse counterparts. Additionally, donkey sperm exhibits a reduced ability to induce porcine oocyte activation. However, when injected into horse oocytes, donkey sperm demonstrated sufficient capability to induce oocyte activation as no discernible differences in cleavage or blastocyst rates are observed between in vitro produced mules and horse ICSI embryos. Our study not only delineates PLCζ localization in donkey sperm but also suggests potential differences in the ability to induce oocyte activation in pigs compared to horses while observing no distinctions in pronuclear recruitment of SMARCA4. Interestingly, donkey sperm remains sufficiently capable of inducing horse oocyte activation for in vitro mule blastocyst production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Arroyo-Salvo
- Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos (CEFYBO), CONICET-UBA, Paraguay 2155, 1121ABG, Ciudad Autónoma de, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Gabriel Clérico
- Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Católica Argentina, 1107, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ana P Flores Bragulat
- Laboratorio de Producción Equina, Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1425FQB, Argentina
| | | | - Catalina Castañeira
- Laboratorio de Producción Equina, Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Olinda Briski
- Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de, Buenos Aires, C1417DSE, Argentina; CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires - Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción Animal (INPA), Ciudad Autónoma de, Buenos Aires, C1425FQB, Argentina
| | - Carolina Alonso
- Laboratorio de Producción Equina, Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Jessica Plaza
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1425FQB, Argentina; Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Instituto de Investigación y Tecnología en Reproducción Animal (INITRA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jose M Zeledon
- Laboratorio de Producción Equina, Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Luis Losinno
- Laboratorio de Producción Equina, Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Marcelo Miragaya
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Instituto de Investigación y Tecnología en Reproducción Animal (INITRA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marina Sansinena
- Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Católica Argentina, 1107, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1425FQB, Argentina
| | - Silvina Perez Martinez
- Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos (CEFYBO), CONICET-UBA, Paraguay 2155, 1121ABG, Ciudad Autónoma de, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, C1425FQB, Argentina
| | - Andrés Gambini
- School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, 4343, Gatton, Queensland, Australia; School of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Queensland, 4343, Gatton, Queensland, Australia.
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Cortez JV, Hardwicke K, Cuervo-Arango J, Grupen CG. Cloning horses by somatic cell nuclear transfer: Effects of oocyte source on development to foaling. Theriogenology 2023; 203:99-108. [PMID: 37011429 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
The cloning of horses is a commercial reality, yet the availability of oocytes for cloned embryo production remains a major limitation. Immature oocytes collected from abattoir-sourced ovaries or from live mares by ovum pick-up (OPU) have both been used to generate cloned foals. However, the reported cloning efficiencies are difficult to compare due to the different somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) techniques and conditions used. The objective of this retrospective study was to compare the in vitro and in vivo development of equine SCNT embryos produced using oocytes recovered from abattoir-sourced ovaries and from live mares by OPU. A total of 1,128 oocytes were obtained, of which 668 were abattoir-derived and 460 were OPU-derived. The methods used for in vitro maturation and SCNT were identical for both oocyte groups, and the embryos were cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12 Ham medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum. Embryo development in vitro was assessed, and Day 7 blastocysts were transferred to recipient mares. The embryos were transferred fresh when possible, and a cohort of vitrified-thawed OPU-derived blastocysts was also transferred. Pregnancy outcomes were recorded at Days 14, 42 and 90 of gestation and at foaling. The rates of cleavage (68.7 ± 3.9% vs 62.4 ± 4.7%) and development to the blastocyst stage (34.6 ± 3.3% vs 25.6 ± 2.0%) were superior for OPU-derived embryos compared with abattoir-derived embryos (P < 0.05). Following transfer of Day 7 blastocysts to a total of 77 recipient mares, the pregnancy rates at Days 14 and 42 of gestation were 37.7% and 27.3%, respectively. Beyond Day 42, the percentages of recipient mares that still had a viable conceptus at Day 90 (84.6% vs 37.5%) and gave birth to a healthy foal (61.5% vs 12.5%) were greater for the OPU group compared with the abattoir group (P < 0.05). Surprisingly, more favourable pregnancy outcomes were achieved when blastocysts were vitrified for later transfer, probably because the uterine receptivity of the recipient mares was more ideal. A total of 12 cloned foals were born, 9 of which were viable. Given the differences observed between the two oocyte groups, the use of OPU-harvested oocytes for generating cloned foals is clearly advantageous. Continued research is essential to better understand the oocyte deficiencies and increase the efficiency of equine cloning.
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Gambini A, Briski O, Canel NG. State of the art of nuclear transfer technologies for assisting mammalian reproduction. Mol Reprod Dev 2022; 89:230-242. [PMID: 35642677 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The transfer of nuclear genomic DNA from a cell to a previously enucleated oocyte or zygote constitutes one of the main tools for studying epigenetic reprogramming, nucleus-cytoplasm compatibility, pluripotency state, and for genetic preservation or edition in animals. More than 50 years ago, the first experiences in nuclear transfer began to reveal that factors stored in the cytoplasm of oocytes could reprogram the nucleus of another cell and support the development of an embryo with new genetic information. Furthermore, when the nuclear donor cell is an oocyte, egg, or a zygote, the implementation of these technologies acquires clinical relevance for patients with repeated failures in ART associated with poor oocyte quality or mitochondrial dysfunctions. This review describes the current state, scope, and future perspectives of nuclear transfer techniques currently available for assisting mammal reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés Gambini
- Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Olinda Briski
- Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Natalia Gabriela Canel
- Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Hospital de Clínicas "José de San Martín," Instituto Universitario de Fertilidad y Reproducción Humana, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Gambini A, Duque Rodríguez M, Rodríguez MB, Briski O, Flores Bragulat AP, Demergassi N, Losinno L, Salamone DF. Horse ooplasm supports in vitro preimplantation development of zebra ICSI and SCNT embryos without compromising YAP1 and SOX2 expression pattern. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0238948. [PMID: 32915925 PMCID: PMC7485800 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Several equids have gone extinct and many extant equids are currently considered vulnerable to critically endangered. This work aimed to evaluate whether domestic horse oocytes support preimplantation development of zebra embryos obtained by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI, zebroid) and cloning, and to study the Hippo signaling pathway during the lineage specification of trophectoderm cells and inner cell mass cells. We first showed that zebra and horse sperm cells induce porcine oocyte activation and recruit maternal SMARCA4 during pronuclear formation. SMARCA4 recruitment showed to be independent of the genetic background of the injected sperm. No differences were found in blastocyst rate of ICSI hybrid (zebra spermatozoon into horse egg) embryos relative to the homospecific horse control group. Interestingly, zebra cloned blastocyst rate was significantly higher at day 8. Moreover, most ICSI and cloned horse and zebra blastocysts showed a similar expression pattern of SOX2 and nuclear YAP1 with the majority of the nuclei positive for YAP1, and most SOX2+ nuclei negative for YAP1. Here we demonstrated that horse oocytes support zebra preimplantation development of both, ICSI and cloned embryos, without compromising development to blastocyst, blastocyst cell number neither the expression of SOX2 and YAP1. Our results support the use of domestic horse oocytes as a model to study in vitro zebra embryos on behalf of preservation of valuable genetic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés Gambini
- Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Producción Equina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- * E-mail:
| | - Matteo Duque Rodríguez
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Fisiología Animal, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Belén Rodríguez
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Fisiología Animal, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Olinda Briski
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Fisiología Animal, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ana P. Flores Bragulat
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Cátedra de Producción Equina, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río IV, Córdoba, Argentina
| | | | - Luis Losinno
- Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Cátedra de Producción Equina, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río IV, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Daniel F. Salamone
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Fisiología Animal, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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