Studies on cryopreservation of nuclear transplanted mouse embryos

마우스 핵이식란의 동결에 관한 연구

The present study was carried out to investigate the developmental potency to blastocyst after freezing and thawing of nuclear transplanted 2-cell embryos. The nuclei from 2-, 4- and 8-cell mouse embryos were transferred into enucleated 2-cell embryos, and the reconstituted embryos were submitted to direct current(DC) pulse at output voltage of 2.0 kV/cm for $100{\mu}$ sec to induce cell fusion. The recovery rate and developmental potency to blastocyst after freezing and thawing of nuclear transplanted 2-cell embryos was investigated. 1. The recovery rate of nuclear transplanted 2-cell embryos in normal morphology after freezing and thawing was significantly higher in rapid freezing(DMSO 4.5M) than in slow cooling(p<0.01). 2. When the recovered embryos in normal morphology were cultured in vitro, there were no significant differences in the developmental potency to blastocyst between the freezing methods and the concentrations of cryoprotectant. In summary, these experiments have proved that rapid freezing method(DMSO 4.5M) is effective in nuclear transplanted 2-cell mouse embryos. If improved micromanipulation techniques and freezing are combined, nuclear transplantation technique will contribute to the improvement of productivity in livestock animals.