• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 1996

Bovine immature oocytes cultured for various times in TC-199 medium were inseminated with frozne-thawed spermatozoa in TC-199 medium supplemented with caffeine(5mM) and heparin(10$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml). Sperm penetraton was possible in oocytes at any stage of maturation, but penetration rates were lower in oocytes inseminated 0~16h (60~76%) than 20h (98%) after culture. Formation of male and female pronuclei were first observed in oocytes inseminated 8h after cultrue. Formation of male and female pronuclei were first observed in oocytes inseminated 8h after culture. The proportions of polyspermy were high(50~76%) in oocytes inseminated at any stage of maturation. Sperm penetration into oocytes at the GV stage started at 8h after insemination and the penetration rates gradually increased as time after insemination proceeds. The proportion(35%) of oocytes matured beyond metaphase-II 20h after sperm-oocytes incubation was low. When oocytes were incubated without spermatozoa in TC-199 medium, maturation rates were significantly higher (P<0.001) in those without(45 and 84% for 16 and 20 h) than with (0 and 36% for 16 and 20 h) caffeine and heparin. These results indicate that TC-199 medium with caffeine and heparin is not suitable for maturation and fertilization of immature oocytes and may inhibit male pronuclear formation in the cytoplasm.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 1993

This study was investigated to examine the effect of conditioned medium from bovine oviductal cell(BOEC) in the co-culture system with BOEC on in vitro development of in vitro produced bovine embryos. Oocyte-cumulus complexes were cultured for 24 hrs in TCM-199 supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, 1$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml FSH and 21U hCG, 1$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml oestradiol-17$\beta$ at 39$^{\circ}C$ under 5% CO2 in air. In vitro fertilization was performed with epididymal sperm and heparin (10$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml, 15min.) or caffeine(2.5mM)-treated spermatozoa. Oocytes were incubated with 1$\times$106 spermatozoa/ml for 18 hrs and then cultured in various culture system for 7 days. The development rates of 16-cell or blastocyst stages were recorded on 4, 7 days, respectively, after incubating. The proportions ofembryonic development into molulae and blastocysts were higher in cumulus cell co-culture(23.4%) and BOEC co-culture(34.3%) than in M199-FCS(6.1%). Similarily, the development rates into molulae and blastocysts were significantly higher in BOEC-conditioned medium than those in M199-FCS. Therefore, it is suggested that BOEC co-culture and BOEC conditioned medium increase significantly the development of in vitro produced bovine embryos in in vitro system.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.241-245
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• 2005

Porcine oviduct epithelial cells (POEC) are widely used in co-culture experiments to improve early embryonic development, in vitro fertilization in embryo transfer programs for domestic animals and in vitro maturation of immature germ cells. POEC were mechanically isolated and cultured in tissue culture medium 199. Cells grew continuously, and confluent monolayers were formed after 7 days. After forming confluent monolayer of epithelial cells, supernatant was collected as the condition medium for maturing round spermatids in vitro. Round spermatids were also separated mechanically and cultured in the POEC condition medium. In this study we observed that $20\%$ of round spermatid cultured were matured into elongating spermatid after 24 h, and about $10\%$ of round spermatid cultured showed complete elongation (elongated spermatid) within $24\~48$ h of in vitro culture. No further development was observed within $50\~72$ h and transformed cells lost their viability after 72 h. These preliminary findings suggest that the condition medium from POEC may be possible to overcome the round spermatid block by improving the milieu of culture system.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 1997

In vitro culture has provided new information on the mechanisms involved in fertilization how sperm and oocyte fuse together. At the same time, results obtained in vitro have led to new questions. Techniques for In vitro maturation of porcine oocytes have progressed such that the problem of the low rate of pronucleus formation with in vitro matured oocytes after in vitro fertilization has been nearly improved. On the other hand, porcine spermatozoa have been shown to be capacitated if the fertilization medium contains caffeine and Ca$^2+$, but the incidence of polyspermy in IVM-IVF oocytes is still high. To prevent polyspermy, co-culture with oviductal cells, sperm preincubation with porcine follicular fluid or control of sperm concentration, have been examined with significant effects but still remarkably high rates of polyspermy. The under standing of these influences is a prerequisite to enhancing in vitro production of porcine em bryos.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.873-879
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• 2010

We investigated the effect of various concentrations of taurine during in vitro fertilization (IVF) on the embryonic development up to the blastocyst stage of bovine oocytes fertilized with three different Japanese Black bulls (Bull A, B and C). In vitro matured oocytes were fertilized with various concentrations of taurine (0, 1, 10, 50 and 100 mM) in the presence of 2.5 or 5.0 mM caffeine plus $25{\mu}g$/ml heparin (CH) for 6 hr or $100{\mu}g$/ml heparin (H) for $24{\pm}2$ h. After IVF, the cleavage rates from the 2 to 16 cell stage determined at 3 days and the development rates up to the blastocyst stage determined at 7-8 days from the onset of IVF were assessed. Although the cleavage rates for the taurine concentration groups were not significantly increased in any of the three bulls in the CH groups, the development rates up to the blastocyst stage of the 50 mM taurine group of Bulls A and B, and of the 1 to 50 mM groups of Bull C were increased (p<0.05) compared to those of the control (0 mM taurine) groups. On the other hand, none of the bulls in the H groups showed any significant increase either in the cleavage rates or blastocyst formation rates in any taurine concentrations groups compared with those of the control groups. These results indicate that the addition of 50 mM taurine to a fertilization medium containing caffeine and heparin may stimulate embryonic development up to the blastocyst stage when fertilized with different bull semen.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.245-255
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• 2004

In recent years, an increasing number of studies on pig in vitro maturation(IVM) and in vitro fertilization(IVF) have been separated. the wide range of new technologies, including that in applied molecular genetics, has increased this interest. the production of viable porcine embryos in vitro is a prerequisites for the successful production of transgenic pigs to date. The efficiency of IVM/IVF techniques in the porcine is lower than that obtained in other species such as cattle and mouse. The several problems are generally thought to be the cause of poor results: the low rate of MPN formation derived from inadequate IVM of oocytes, the high incidence of polyspermy after IVF and cell blocking at 4 cell during embryos culture. For there reasons overcoming, many studies have been conducted to improve in vitro embryo-genic competence of oocytes. In the last several years, many maturation culture media have been evaluated and various exogenous factors such as hormones and grows factors have been tested to improve the efficiency of porcine in vitro system. In the study several antioxidants have been examined to improve in vitro fertilization and development of porcine oocytes. In this study, several antioxidants were examined to determine the effects on the development of oocytes to the cleavage, morula and blastocyst stage when added at the maturation(IVM) or in vitro fertilization(IVF) or in vitro culture(IVC) of porcine embryos. Porcine oocytes were matured, fertilized and embryos were cultured in defind conditioned medium in vitro with or without supplementation with the antioxidents of cysteine, catalase and glutathione. 1. Significant improvement of blastocyst rate (27.2％ versus 15.4％, p<0.05) were achieved when catalase(500U/$m\ell$) were added to TCM-199 medium and morula rate(72.0％ versus 53.9％, p<0.05) were significantly higher when glutathione(1.0mM/$m\ell$) were added to TCM-199 medium than those of control. 2. In mTBM medium for oocytes fertilization, the addition of cysteine, catalase and glutathione had no positive effect on embryonic development. glutathione had no positive effect on embryonic development. In conclusion, this study shows that addition of catalase, gluththione during IVM improved the rate of porcine embryo development.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2000

Objective: In vitro fertilization (IVF) and a prolonging the time of culture may be helpful in establishing a viable pregnancy through a selection effect. Some embryos do not develop beyond the 4-cell stage and some may not develop to the blastocyst stage. We have evaluated the safety of SET and the outcomes of pregnancy. Methods: Sperms were treated with Ham's F-10 supplemented with 10% human follicular fluid (hFF). oocytes or fertilized oocytes were cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) with 10% or 20% hFF respectively. Up to five oocytes were inseminated with approximately 200,000 sperm cells/2 ml in each well. Fertilization was examined in the following morning and fertilized oocytes were co-cultured until embryo transfer. Vero cells for co-culture were prepared in Tissue Culture Medium - 199 (TCM-199) with 10% fetal bovine serum. At the two to four cell and blastocyst on day 2 and day 5, embryo and blstocyst grading were evaluated. Pregnancy rate was determined after transfer of human embryos at the two to four cell stage on day 2 (Group I) or subsequent transfer of embryos on day 2 and at the blastocyst stage on day 5 (Group II). For statistical analysis, Student's t-test and Chi-square (${\chi}^2$_test) were used. Results were considered statistically significant when p value was less than 0.05. Results: No differences was found in the fertilization between Group I (81.0%, 98/121) and Group II (81.8%, 180/220). In case of cleavage rate, no difference was found in Group I (95.9%, 94/98) and Group II (97.8%, 174/178). However, the rate of-clinical pregnancy was significantly higher (p=0.014) in Group II (66.7%, 12/18) than in Group I (26.3%, 5/19). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that SET is safe and effective, and significantly increases the pregnancy rate.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.115-121
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• 2014

Humulus japonicus is an ornamental plant in the Cannabaceae family. Although the mode of action of Humulus japonicus is not fully understood, a strong relationship was observed between anti-inflammatory and anticancer in some types of cells. Recent studies also have shown that Humulus japonicus possesses anti-inflammatory activities and may significantly improve antioxidant potential in Raw 264.7 macrophage cells. Thus, the aim of this study was evaluated the effect of Humulus japonicus extract on sperm motility and subsequent preimplantation developmental competence of the bovine embryos. After in vitro maturation, the oocytes with sperms were exposed in in vitro fertilization (IVF) medium supplemented with Humulus japonicus extract (0.01, 0.05, $0.1{\mu}g/mL$, respectively) for 1 day. In our results, exposure of IVF medium to Humulus japonicus extract did not affect sperm motility and percentage of penetrated oocytes but ROS intensity was significantly decreased by $0.01{\mu}g/mL$ compared with other groups (p< 0.05). Moreover, treatment with $0.01{\mu}g/mL$ of Humulus japonicus extract was higher the frequency of blastocyst formation than the any other groups (p<0.05). Otherwise, treatment with $0.01{\mu}g/mL$ of Humulus japonicus extract not increased the total cell number but reduced apoptotic-positive nuclei number. In conclusion, our results indicate that supplementation of Humulus japonicus extract in IVF medium may have important implications for improving early embryonic development in bovine embryos.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.187-195
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• 1995

The present study carried out to determine the developmental capacity of bovine oocytes matured in epidermal growth factor(EGF)-containing medium, the developmental competence of bovine embryos using synthetic oviduct fluid(SOF) and the effect of glucose on the development of bovine embryos. In experiment 1, oocytes, obtained from abattoir ovaries, were matured in EGF-containing medium for 24 hours, followed by exposure to Korean native cattle spermatozoa for 18 hours and cultured by utilizing co-culture system with bovine oviduct epithelial cells(BOEC) in TCM199. In experiment 2, early bovine embryos were cultured in SOF with or without BOEC and compared with those in TCM199 with BOEC. In experiment 3, bovine embryos were cultured in the presence or absence of glucose. Seven and ten days after in vitro fertilization, developmental competence of embryos were evaluated. The rate of cleavage was significantly(P<0.05) higher in EGF-containing maturation medium(70.0%) than in control(57.7%). The rates of development to morulae and blastocysts were 30.6% and 23.3% there was no significant difference between them. The rates of in vitro fertilized embryos to morulae and blastocysts cultured in SOF with BOEC(30.4%) and in TCM199 with BOEC(38.0%) were significantly(P<0.01) higher than cultured in SOF without BOEC(13.4%) at seven days after in vitro fertilization. The rates of embryos to blastocysts cultured in SOF with BOEC(29.4%) and in TCM199 with BOEC(35.9%) were significantly(P<0.05) higher than cultured in SOF without BOEC(13.4%) at ten days after in vitro fertilization. The rates of early embryos to morulae and blastocysts cultured in the presence or absence of glucose were 12.2% and 17.5% each other, there was no significant difference between them. The results show that bovine oocytes matured in the presence of EGF can cleave better, SOF with BOEC can replace serum containing complex media, TCM199 with BOEC in bovine embryo culture and glucose have little effect on the culture of early bovine embryos.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.199-208
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• 1992

These studies were carried out to investigate optimal physological conditions for in vitro fertilization (IVF) of mouse ova. The unfertilized ova were obtained by superovulation from ICR mice of 4 to 6 weeks old. Tyrode's 280 solution was used as basal media, and pH and osmolality of basal media were adjusted with the supplementation of sodium bicarbonate and sodium chloride, respectively. The optimal pH, and osmolality of culture media and the optimum period of sperm preincubation were examined in fertilization in vitro of mouse ova and the subsequent culture in vitro of embryos. The pH range of media examined was designed from 6.5 to 7.5 with 0.2 interval and the range of osmolality from 250 to 370 mOsm with 20 interval, and the period of sperm preincubation examined was 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes. The ova developed to 2-cell embryosafter 26hrs. of incubation with preincubated sperm were evaluated as in vitro fertilized ones. The results obtained were summarized as follows: 1. The percentage of in vitro fertilized ova was highest (64.7%) in media of pH 7.1 and lowest (38.0%) in pH 6.7. No significant difference in % fertilized ova was found from the media of pH 7.1 to 7.5. Compared with the result from pH 7.1 medium, the pollyspermy was increased signifciantly (p<0.05) in the media of pH over 7.5 and below 6.9;, and the % degenerated ova was significantly (p<0.05) increased in the media of pH below 6.9. 2. The percentage of in vitro fertilized ova was highest (69.4%) in media of osmolality 330 mOsm and lowest (47.9%) in osmolality 250 mOsm. No significant difference in % fertilized ova was found from the media of osmolality 310 to 350 mOsm. Compared with the result from osmolality 330 mOsm in medium, the polyspermy aws increased significantly(p<0.05) in the media of osmolality over 350 mosmol and blow 290 mOsm, and the % degenerated ova was significantly (P<0.05) increased in the media of osmolality below 290 mOsm. 3. The percentate of in vitro fertlilized ova was highest (62.7%) in media of period sperm preincubation 180 min. and lowest (40.4%) in sperm preincubation 30 minutes. No significant difference in % fertilized ova was found from the media of sperm preincubation 120 to 180 minutes. Compared with the result from sperm preincubation 180 minutes in medium, the polyspermy was low differ no significantly(P<0.05) in the media of period sperm preincubation, and the % degenerated ova was signifciantly(P<0.05) increased in the media of sperm presincubation below 60 minutes.