Browsing by Subject "Embryo transfer"

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    Open Access
    Growth analysis and blood profile in piglets born by embryo transfer
    (Elsevier, 2022) París-Oller, Evelyne; Matás, Carmen; Romar, Raquel; Lopes, Jordana S.; Gadea, Joaquín; Cánovas, Sebastián; Coy, Pilar; Fisiología
    Assisted reproductive technologies (ART), besides solving several reproductive problems, it has also been used as a tool to improve the animal productivity that is required for feeding the human population. One of these techniques, the embryo transfer (ET), has presented limitations in the porcine species, which could constrain its use in the porcine industry. To clarify the potential of this technique, we aimed to compare the impact of using ET or artificial insemination (AI) on the phenotype of the offspring during its first days of age, in terms of growth and blood parameters. At birth, the body weight was higher for ET-females than AI-females, but this difference was no longer observed at day 15. On day 3, it was observed a higher concentration of red blood cells, haemoglobin, and haematocrit in females-ET and a higher concentration of white blood cells in both ET-derived piglets (males and females) when compared to AI groups. On day 3, the biochemical analysis showed a higher level of albumin for ET-derived males, and a lower level of bilirubin for ET-females than AI controls. However, all values were within the normal ranges. Our results indicate that piglets derived from ET seem to be phenotypically similar to those born by AI, which provides preliminary evidence that the ET procedure is a safe technique, but additional studies beyond 15 days of life are requested to conclude its global impact. Furthermore, the presented reference values of blood parameters in this species are interesting data for the pig industry.
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    Open Access
    Reproductive fluids, used for the in vitro production of pig embryos, result in healthy offspring and avoid aberrant placental expression of PEG3 and LUM
    (BMC, 2021) París-Oller, E.; Navarro-Serna, S.; Soriano-Úbeda, C.; Lopes, J.S.; Matás, C.; Ruiz, S.; Latorre, L.; Romar, R.; Cánovas, S.; Coy, P.; López Albors, Octavio Miguel; Fisiología
    Background: In vitro embryo production (IVP) and embryo transfer (ET) are two very common assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in human and cattle. However, in pig, the combination of either procedures, or even their use separately, is still considered suboptimal due to the low efficiency of IVP plus the difficulty of performing ET in the long and contorted uterus of the sow. In addition, the potential impact of these two ART on the health of the offspring is unknown. We investigated here if the use of a modified IVP system, with natural reproductive fluids (RF) as supplements to the culture media, combined with a minimally invasive surgery to perform ET, affects the output of the own IVP system as well as the reproductive performance of the mother and placental molecular traits. Results: The blastocyst rates obtained by both in vitro systems, conventional (C-IVP) and modified (RF-IVP), were similar. Pregnancy and farrowing rates were also similar. However, when compared to in vivo control (artificial insemination, AI), litter sizes of both IVP groups were lower, while placental efficiency was higher in AI than in RF-IVP. Gene expression studies revealed aberrant expression levels for PEG3 and LUM in placental tissue for C-IVP group when compared to AI, but not for RF-IVP group. Conclusions: The use of reproductive fluids as additives for the culture media in pig IVP does not improve reproductive performance of recipient mothers but could mitigate the impact of artificial procedures in the offspring.
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    Publication
    Open Access
    Reproductive fluids, used for the in vitro production of pig embryos, result in healthy offspring and avoid aberrant placental expression of PEG3 and LUM.
    (BMC, 2021-02-15) París-Oller, E.; Navarro-Serna, S.; Soriano-Ubeda, C.; Lopes, J.S.; Matás, C.; Ruiz, S.; Cánovas, S.; Coy, P.; Romar, R.; Latorre Reviriego, Rafael Manuel; López Albors, Octavio Miguel; Fisiología; Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas
    Background: In vitro embryo production (IVP) and embryo transfer (ET) are two very common assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in human and cattle. However, in pig, the combination of either procedures, or even their use separately, is still considered suboptimal due to the low efficiency of IVP plus the difficulty of performing ET in the long and contorted uterus of the sow. In addition, the potential impact of these two ART on the health of the offspring is unknown. We investigated here if the use of a modified IVP system, with natural reproductive fluids (RF) as supplements to the culture media, combined with a minimally invasive surgery to perform ET, affects the output of the own IVP system as well as the reproductive performance of the mother and placental molecular traits. Results: The blastocyst rates obtained by both in vitro systems, conventional (C-IVP) and modified (RF-IVP), were similar. Pregnancy and farrowing rates were also similar. However, when compared to in vivo control (artificial insemination, AI), litter sizes of both IVP groups were lower, while placental efficiency was higher in AI than in RF-IVP. Gene expression studies revealed aberrant expression levels for PEG3 and LUM in placental tissue for C-IVP group when compared to AI, but not for RF-IVP group. Conclusions: The use of reproductive fluids as additives for the culture media in pig IVP does not improve reproductive performance of recipient mothers but could mitigate the impact of artificial procedures in the offspring. Keywords: Assisted reproductive technologies, Embryo transfer, In vitro embryo production, Placenta, Reproductive fluids