title: GlutaMAX prolongs the shelf life of the culture medium for porcine parthenotes.
abstract: In vitro porcine embryo production systems have been established and well characterized. However, the efficiency of embryo development during IVC is still very low. In the present study, we have investigated the development of parthenogenetic porcine embryos in the well-known PZM-5 medium for porcine embryos, which was modified by replacing glutamine with the GlutaMAX supplement. We revealed that blastocyst apoptosis was significantly lower in the presence of GlutaMAX, which reduced the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c. Furthermore, the expression of apoptosis genes was significantly lower during GlutaMAX treatment (P < 0.05). The modified medium was also examined for the eventual loss of its efficacy in the presence of GlutaMAX. Three, 6, and 12 months after medium preparation, blastocyst formation in the GlutaMAX-supplemented medium was significantly higher than the number of blastocysts in the medium containing glutamine. After a long period of storage, ammonia concentration was significantly increased in the glutamine medium, whereas it was not statistically different in the GlutaMAX medium. Elevated ammonia concentrations reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP content of blastocysts in the glutamine medium. These results demonstrate that GlutaMAX can reduce blastocyst apoptosis via inhibition of the cytochrome c pathway and significantly extend the shelf life of the culture medium to at least 1 year.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Center for Bio-Resource Development, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ming-Hui
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Center for Bio-Resource Development, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: nhkim@chungbuk.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Nam-Hyung
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea; Brain Korea 21 Center for Bio-Resource Development, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: xscui@chungbuk.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Xiang-Shun
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D010312:Parthenogenesis; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000196:embryology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004151:Dipeptides; D011310:Preservatives, Pharmaceutical; D000641:Ammonia; C054122:alanylglutamine
keywords: GlutaMAX; Medium shelf life; Porcine parthenote