title: Culture of in vitro fertilized bovine embryos with bovine oviductal epithelial cells, Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells, or BRL-cell-conditioned medium.
abstract: Co-culture with various cell types can enhance development of bovine embryos, especially through the transition from maternal to embryonic mRNA utilization, a stage of growth refractory to most in vitro methods. Bovine oviductal epithelial (BOE) cells have been particularly successful for culturing embryos through the refractory stage; however, Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells are a readily available, long-lived, easy-to-care-for alternative. This study compared the embryotrophic activity of BOE to BRL cells with particular emphasis on the transition stage of growth. A total of 7158 immature bovine oocytes, matured and fertilized in vitro, were divided into 4 different culture treatments: Treatment 1: BRL conditioned medium for 72 h then BRL co-culture; Treatment 2: BRL co-culture; Treatment 3: BOE co-culture for 72 h in 5% oxygen then BRL co-culture; and Treatment 4: BOE co-culture for 72 h in 5% oxygen followed by BOE co-culture in air. Those same treatments were used to evaluate embryotrophic differences of early (4 to 5) versus late (14 to 15) passage BRL cells maintained in M-199 medium with 10% serum. Two bulls were also evaluated to determine if there exists a bull-by-culture system interaction. Treatment 3 resulted in the best development after 9 d; 9.1% of selected immature oocytes developed to expanded blastocyst. Early passage BRL cells were significantly more embryotrophic than later passage cells; this was most pronounced for Treatment 2. There was a treatment-by-bull interaction, which should be considered when comparing results among similar studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University and the Utah State Experiment Station, Logan, UT 84322, USA.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Bunch
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: White