title: Survival of early preimplantation porcine embryos after co-culture with cells producing an avian retrovirus.
abstract: To determine the relative survival of porcine embryos after co-culture with cells producing an avian retrovirus, four-cell stage embryos were obtained from sows following synchronization with altrenogest and superovulation with gonadotropins. These embryos were randomly assigned to the following treatments: no manipulation (zona-intact); zona removed with acidified Tyrode's solution (zona-free); and zona removed followed by co-culture with D-17 canine cells producing an avian retrovirus vector derived from spleen necrosis virus (zona-free + co-culture). The survival rates of four-cell stage embryos to morulae or early blastocysts during a 48-h culture period were 93.3, 80.0 and 57.7% in zona-intact, zona-free and zona-free + co-culture groups, respectively. Following embryo transfer, the development of embryos to fetuses at six weeks of gestation was 37.5, 30.0 and 11.7% in zona-intact, zona-free and zona-free + co-culture groups. These results indicate that early preimplantation porcine embryos can develop to apparently normal fetuses following co-culture with cells producing a retrovirus, and the feasibility of this method for retrovirus-mediated gene transfer in pigs was demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Physiology Research Laboratory, Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7621, USA.
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Petters
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Shuman