149 Effects of quisqualic acid and L-α-amino butyrate supplementation during in vitro oocyte maturation on embryonic development in pigs
S. Reynolds A , K. Springl A , H. Arena A and B. Whitaker AA The University of Findlay, Findlay, OH, USA
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 34(2) 312-313 https://doi.org/10.1071/RDv34n2Ab149
Published: 7 December 2021
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the IETS
Quisqualic acid (QA) inhibits sodium-dependent amino acid transporters, causing a decrease in cumulus cell expansion during oocyte maturation and male pronucleus formation after IVF. This depression in the successful production of in vitro-produced porcine embryos can be attributed to the low levels of glutathione being produced intracellularly. Supplementation of L-α-amino butyrate (aAB), a low-molecular-weight thiol compound, increases the oocyte intracellular concentrations of glutathione by the end of maturation. However, it is unknown whether aAB supplementation during maturation utilises the sodium-dependent amino acid transporter and how it affects embryonic development. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of QA and aAB supplementation during oocyte maturation on early embryonic development. Oocytes were randomly assigned to a maturation medium containing QA (0 or 1.0 mM) and supplemented with aAB (0 or 3.3 mM). Following maturation (40–44 h), oocytes were subjected to IVF (6–8 h) using frozen/thawed sperm (2.0 × 105 sperm cells mL−1), and embryos (n = 1742) were evaluated at 48 h and 144 h after IVF for cleavage and blastocyst formation, respectively. This experiment was a 2 × 2 factorial design and analysed by Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel statistics controlling for QA. Supplementation of aAB increased (P < 0.05) cleavage (73.41%, n = 635) and blastocyst formation (39.58%, n = 290) compared with the control (n = 396). When oocytes were matured with QA, the oocytes supplemented with aAB had a higher percent (P < 0.05) cleaved by 48 h after IVF (67.43%, n = 265) compared with those that were not supplemented with aAB (53.45%, n = 509). These results suggest that supplementation of aAB during oocyte maturation improves early embryonic development and inhibiting the sodium-dependent amino acid transporter by the addition of QA partially reduces the efficacy of aAB.
