title: Quantification and viability assessment of isolated bovine primordial and primary ovarian follicles retrieved through a standardized biopsy pick-up procedure.
abstract: The feasibility of repeated collection and enzymatic isolation of large numbers of viable primordial and primary follicles from living donor cows were tested. Ovarian cortical biopsies were collected transvaginally by the Biopsy Pick-Up (BPU) device, a modification of an Ovum Pick-Up instrument. Follicles were enzymatically isolated from the retrieved cortical tissue samples, and follicle viability was determined by a live/dead fluorescent assay. Six cows were subjected to BPU once per week during 4 consecutive weeks, and in each BPU session 4 cortical tissue samples were collected per ovary. Over the 4-week trial period, a total of 1443 primordial and primary follicles were collected, 1358 (94%) of which were primordial and 85 (6%) were primary follicles. In each BPU session, an average 60.1 +/- 10.7 (mean +/- SEM) primordial and primary follicles were isolated per cow. The number of follicles varied considerably throughout the trial period and between cows. Statistical analysis of the data, however, did not support the presence of any distinct trends in the follicle yields over time or between cows. A total of 111 enzymatically isolated follicles were analyzed for viability with fluorescent probes. The vast majority of isolated follicles (92.8%) were totally viable. We conclude that the standardized BPU procedure generates sufficiently large numbers of vital primordial and primary follicles, thus validating BPU as a new tool for research into early bovine follicular development.
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, AntwerpDepartment of Gynecology, Université Catholique de Louvain, BrusselsDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Jmj
authors: J
authors: Aerts
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, AntwerpDepartment of Gynecology, Université Catholique de Louvain, BrusselsDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Martinez-Madrid
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, AntwerpDepartment of Gynecology, Université Catholique de Louvain, BrusselsDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Flothmann
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, AntwerpDepartment of Gynecology, Université Catholique de Louvain, BrusselsDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Jbp
authors: J
authors: De Clercq
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, AntwerpDepartment of Gynecology, Université Catholique de Louvain, BrusselsDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Van Aelst
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Antwerp, AntwerpDepartment of Gynecology, Université Catholique de Louvain, BrusselsDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Pej
authors: P
authors: Bols
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000662:veterinary; D002417:Cattle; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D010053:Ovary / Q000166:cytology*; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*