title: Hypotaurine requirement for in vitro development of golden hamster one-cell embryos into morulae and blastocysts, and production of term offspring from in vitro-fertilized ova.
abstract: Almost 30 years after the first successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), we report that IVF hamster embryos can develop in a chemically defined, protein-free culture medium into morulae and blastocysts, and produce normal offspring after transfer to recipients. When examined 96 h post-insemination, 82% (160/200) of IVF ova had cleaved to at least 2 cells, 55% (97/200) had developed beyond the 4-cell stage, and 22% (38/200) had developed into morulae/blastocysts. In vitro development of IVF embryos to greater than or equal to 8 cells was absolutely dependent on hypotaurine. Twenty living offspring were produced from transfer of IVF embryos to recipients, with an overall success rate of 5% and 17% for oviductal (2-cell) and uterine (8-cell/morulae) transfers, respectively. In vivo-fertilized pronucleate embryos collected 3 h after egg activation were less able to develop in vitro than embryos collected only 6 h later, revealing a critical influence of the oviduct within the first hours of embryo development. Hypotaurine partly compensated for the decreased oviductal exposure of early 1-cell embryos. Establishment of a key role for hypotaurine in hamster embryo development, support of IVF embryos to morula/blastocyst stages in vitro, and production of living offspring after IVF embryo transfer are significant steps towards the goal of obtaining comparative data on preimplantation embryogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Bavister
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006224:Cricetinae; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D008647:Mesocricetus; D009028:Morula / Q000502:physiology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D013654:Taurine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013654:Taurine; C003949:hypotaurine