title: Effect of insulin, transferrin and selenium and epidermal growth factor on development of buffalo oocytes to the blastocyst stage in vitro in serum-free, semidefined media.
abstract: The in vitro development of buffalo oocytes up to the blastocyst stage was studied in serum-free, semidefined media containing bovine serum albumin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), insulin, transferrin and selenium (ITS) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). In experiment 1, oocytes aspirated from abattoir-derived ovaries were cultured in eight serum-free, semidefined culture media containing different combinations of these four factors. In experiment 2, the maturation of buffalo oocytes and the development of the embryos were compared in a complex co-culture system and in the serum-free, semidefined media. Supplementation with FSH and EGF significantly (P < 0.05) increased the maturation rates of buffalo oocytes, and the yield of blastocysts was higher (P < 0.05) in media containing EGF and ITS. The yield of blastocysts was lower in the serum-free semidefined media (P < 0.05) than in the complex co-culture system.
authors.affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences, Hebbal, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Raghu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nandi
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001757:Blastomeres / Q000187:drug effects; D002020:Buffaloes; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D012643:Selenium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014168:Transferrin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D014168:Transferrin; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D012643:Selenium