162 IMPROVED EMBRYO SURVIVAL AND QUALITY WITH EMCARE II
A. Harvey A , M. Lane A and J. Thompson AResearch Centre for Reproductive Health, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 18(2) 189-189 https://doi.org/10.1071/RDv18n2Ab162
Published: 14 December 2005
Abstract
Collection of embryos exposes them to a number of stresses, including light, air, and changes in temperature. Improvement of holding media to reduce the impact of handling stresses on the embryo during in vivo collection and transfer is therefore beneficial to ensure maintenance of viability following transfer. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of holding IVP-derived blastocysts at 25°C in Emcare I (ECMI, Emcare, Dallas, TX, USA) with those held in Emcare II (ECMII), a proprietry formulation designed to reduce in vitro-induced stress. In vitro-produced bovine embryos were generated using standard protocols. Blastocysts were randomly allocated to either ECMI or ECMII (ICPBio, Aukland, New Zealand) on Day 7 and were held at 25°C for a period of 24 h, after which they were cultured in Cook Bovine Blast (Cook Australia, Brisbane, Australia) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum for 48 h. At 24 and 48 h, embryos were scored for hatching, and a cohort removed for TUNEL staining at each time point. Differences were analyzed by Student's t-test. At both 24- and 48-h culture, hatching rates tended to be higher for embryos held in ECMII than in ECMI (Table 1). The level of apoptosis at 48 h was reduced in blastocysts held in ECMII (P = 0.06). Moreover, the total cell number of hatched blastocysts at 48 h was significantly increased (1.5-fold) in those held in ECMII (P = 0.01). Results suggest that the formulation of ECMII improves the ability of IVP bovine blastocysts to re-expand and hatch following an imposed stress (25°C for 24 h). Furthermore, ECMII improves overall embryo quality through a reduction in the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis as well as through increased cell numbers, evident 48 h following cessation of the stress. We suggest that Emcare II reduces the impact of (or increases the embryo's tolerance to and recovery from) an imposed stress, which, although severe in the present study, may provide improved outcomes following embryo transfer in field situations.
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This work was supported with funding by ICPBio (NZ).
