Reproduction Abstracts

In a previous study, following IVF, oocytes from gilts fed a high fibre diet for the first 19 days of their third oestrous cycle, produced blastocysts with more cells than oocytes from control-fed gilts. We hypothesise that FF protein composition is altered by the diet and that this confers the reproductive benefits.The current study compared the protein composition of pooled Day 19 FF from 12 high fibre-fed pigs and 12 control-fed pigs in search of biom...

Each egg, when ovulated from a follicle, is surrounded by cumulus cells. Prior to ovulation, these cumulus cells secrete cumulus extracellular matrix (cECM) molecules, resulting in cumulus expansion. Cumulus expansion has been linked to the developmental quality of the oocyte. Hyaluronan (HA), the major constituent of the cECM, is stabilised by molecules such as heavy chains (HCs), pentraxin 3 (PTX3) and tumour necrosis factor-stimulated gene 6 (TSG6) during expansion. All of ...

Background: Waddlia chondrophila (W. chondrophila) is an emerging abortifacient pathogen which has been identified in the placentae of humans and cattle. The organism is a member of the order Chlamydiales, and shares many similarities at the genome level, and in growth studies, with other well-characterised zoonotic chlamydial abortifacients, such as Chlamydia abortus (C. abortus). We have previously observed significant responses i...

Introduction: It is understood that active agents in seminal fluid are key to initiating and coordinating mating-induced immunomodulation. This study aimed to characterise the structure of a network of cytokines whose interactions are thought to underpin this process in rats and mice.Methods: Seminal fluid, collected from isolated seminal glands, and serum, collected by cardiac puncture, were obtained from sexually mature Wistar rats (n=20) and ...

Globally, malnutrition is the single greatest threat to public health. Maternal malnutrition during pregnancy is detrimental to foetal development and increases the risk of many chronic diseases in later life. Neurological consequences include increased risk of schizophrenia and abnormal anxiety-related behaviour. Previous studies have shown that maternal protein restriction has a negative effect on foetal brain development in vivo and we previously showed an effect o...

Research conducted in recent years has led to great advances in our understanding of the participation of cGMP in meiosis. It is clear that increased intra-oocyte concentrations of cGMP inhibit meiosis in mouse models. Like cAMP, cGMP may also have a meiotic stimulatory function, possibly via cGMP/PKG. Abattoir derived gilt porcine ovaries were collected, antral follicles aspirated and oocytes collected and cultured in TCM-199+3 mg/ml BSA. Natriuretic peptide receptor 2 (N...

Introduction: Several studies support the notion that in vitro pre-maturation treatments aimed to improve the developmental capability of immature oocytes have a different effect depending on the oocyte metabolic status at the time of its removal from the follicle. We demonstrated that changes in large-scale chromatin configuration within the germinal vesicle (GV) of fully-grown bovine oocytes are related to the acquisition of developmental competence. In particular, ...

Introduction: Previous studies suggest that progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) plays an essential role during bovine oocyte meiosis, since it i) localizes to the centromeres at metaphases I and II and ii) concentrates between the separating chromosomes at ana/telophase I. Moreover, injection of an antibody to PGRMC1 significantly impairs completion of meiosis. The aim of the present study is to expand these findings by using siRNA (RNAi)-mediated gene silencin...

Although GH receptor (GHR) gene deletion causes a hereditary dwarfism and also shows a longer lifespan, the fact was shown only in mice. Because it was difficult to generate knockout (KO) animals other than mice. Recently, the generation of KO animals became possible without difficulty due to advances in genome editing technologies such as transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN). In the present study, we examined the effect of cRNA concentration microinjected cy...

The inclusion of amino acids in pre-implantation embryo culture media is known to improve the rate of development and embryo viability. Our studies have shown that embryos cultured in L-proline from the zygote to the blastocyst stage develop better than embryos cultured in the absence of amino acids. This study aimed to identify the pre-implantation stage(s) at which L-proline transport is required for development to be improved and then to charac...