• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 1999

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of $\alpha$-tocopherol and cysteamine with Whitten's medium in supporting the development on in vitro maturation(IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF) and in culture(IVC) on porcine oocytes. When the immature oocytes were cultured of $\alpha$-tocopherol for 40h, the nuclear maturation rates were 39, 4, 52.5 and 54.1%, respectivley. The nuclear maturation rates of treat groups were signficantly (P<0.05) higher than those of non-treat groups. After matureation, the oocytes were inseminated in vitro in medium 199 with ejaculated spermatoza for examination of sperm penetration, polyspermy, male pronuclear(MPN) formation, and cleavage rate. Sperm penetration rates of treat higher than the control groups(P<0.05), and MPN formation rates were significantly(P<0.05) higher on treated groups (24.3~53.1%) than control groups(14.2~21.4%). After insemination, the cleavage rates at 120hr were groups higher than control groups(P<0.05).

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2007

This study was conducted to examine the role of intact cumulus cells during in vitro fertilization (IVF) on sperm penetration, male pronuclear (MPN) formation and subsequent embryo development of oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro. Cumulus-oocyte complexes obtained from the slaughtered gilt ovaries were matured for 44 h in TCM199 containing 10% porcine follicular fluid, epidermal growth factor and hormones. After maturation culture, denuded oocytes or oocytes with intact cumulus cells were coincubated with frozen-thawed boar semen for 8h in a modified tris-buffered medium containing 5mM caffeine and 10mM calcium chloride. Putative zygotes were fixed and examined for sperm penetration and MPN formation (Experiments $1{\sim}3$), or cultured in North Carolina State University-23 medium fo. 156 h (Experiment 3). In Experiment 1, sperm penetration was examined after insemination of denuded oocytes and oocytes with intact cumulus cells at the concentration of $7.5{\times}10^5$ sperm/ml. Optimal sperm concentration for IVF of cumulus-intact oocytes was determined in Experiment 2 by inseminating intact oocytes with $2{\sim}5{\times}10^6$ sperm/ml. In Experiment 3, denuded or intact oocytes were inseminated at the concentrations of $7.5{\times}10^5$ and $4.0{\times}10^6$ sperm/ml, respectively, and in vitro embryo development was compared. Sperm penetration was significantly (p<0.01) decreased in cumulus-intact oocytes compared to denuded oocytes (35.2% vs. 77.4%). Based on the rates of sperm penetration and normal fertilization, the concentration of $4.0{\times}10^6$ sperm/ml was optimal for the IVF of intact oocytes compared to other sperm concentrations. The presence of intact cumulus cells during IVF significantly (p<0.05) improved embryo cleavage (48.8% vs. 58.9%), blastocyst (BL) formation (11.0% vs. 22.8%) and embryo cell number $(22{\pm}2\;vs.\;29{\pm}2\;cells)$ compared to denuded oocytes. In conclusion, these results suggest that intact cumulus cells during IVF inhibit sperm penetration but improve embryo cleavage, BL formation and embryo cell number of porcine embryos produced in vitro.