Early Growth and Development of Boer Goats from Embryo Transplant

[ Objective] To study the growth-development of Boer goats from embryo transplant. [ Method] With Boer goats from embryo transplant as the tested animals and natural breeding Boer goats born in the same period as CK, the weight of Boer goats at birth and at the age of 1,3 and 6 months as well as the body size at the age of 3 and 6 months were investigated in this study, while their health conditions were also observed and recorded. [ Result] Under the normal feeding conditions, Boer goats from embryo transplant developed well at early stage, and their meat-using body type were also obvious. The average birth weight of bucks was （4.25±0.95） kg, and that of does was （3.74±0.10） kg. The average weight of bucks at the age of 6 months was （31.90 ±0.74） kg and that of was （25.90 ±0.67） kg. The daily gains of bucks and ewes from birth to 6 months of age were 153.64 and 123.11 g respectively, while their body length, body height and chest circumference increased obviously, and there was no significant difference in body weight or body size between them and natural breeding goats. [ Condusioa] The study lays a foundation for further studies on the breedinq and utilization of Boer noats from embryo transplant at early staae.

Technical Measures for Rapid Propagation of Improved Beef Cattle

Based on early weaning in calves,hormone induction in young calves,intravital egg collection,in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer which serve as major breakthroughs in livestock breeding technology,the techniques of hormone induction and in-vitro fertilization were integrated,not only to solve the problem of obtaining oocytes by hormone induction in adult cows in production practice,but also to obviously improve production efficiency.The application of this technology can help accelerate the cultivation process,shorten the generation interval,promote the industrialization and improve the economic benefits of beef cattle breed.This paper provides a reference for the research and application of new breeding and propagation techniques of beef cattle.

Effects of changing the control ovarian stimulation protocol in patients without a transplantable embryo in the previous in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycle

Objective:Some patients fail to obtain an embryo for transplantation during previousin vitro fertilization(IVF)or intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI)cycles,and require multiple reproductive treatments.This study aimed to evaluate whether changing the control ovarian stimulation(COS)protocol during the subsequent stimulation cycle could improve laboratory and clinical outcomes in these patients.Methods:Patients without a transplantable embryo(TE)in the previous IVF/ICSI cycles were recruited during their second cycles.They were classified into two groups according to their first cycle protocol:Group A,patients treated with a gonadotropinreleasing hormone agonist(GnRH-a),and Group B,patients treated with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist(GnRH-ant).The study group included patients whose stimulation protocols were changed,whereas the control group consisted of patients who used the same stimulation protocol in the second cycle.We then compared the numbers of oocytes collected(OC)and TE,the incidence of non-TE,the pregnancy rate(PR),and the live birth rate(LBR).Results:In Group A,the numbers of OC and TE were significantly lower(6.0±4.7vs.9.4±6.4,2.3±2.2vs.4.5±3.8,P<0.05)in the study group compared with those in the control group.In Group B,the numbers of OC and TE were higher(7.0±5.5vs.4.0±4.3,3.5±3.4vs.1.8±2.1,P<0.05)in the study group.There was a significant increase in the incidence of non-TE(adjusted odds ratio(AOR)=2.12,95%CI:1.04–4.69)of the study group in Group A but not in Group B.No significant differences in the PR or LBR were found between the study and control groups in either Group A or B.Conclusion:Changing the COS protocol from GnRH-ant to GnRH-a or continuing the GnRH-a protocol can improve laboratory outcomes in patients with no TE in the previous IVF/ICSI cycle.

Effects of electro-acupuncture on embryo implanted potential of patients with infertility of different syndromes

Objective To explore the impacts of electro-acupuncture on embryo implanted potential and its molecular mechanism in patients with infertility of different syndromes. Methods Among infertile patients treated with in vitro fertilization and embryo transplantation （IVF-ET） combined with electro-acupuncture, 82 cases of kidney deficiency syndrome （group A）, 74 cases of liver qi stagnation syndrome （group B） and 54 cases of phlegm dampness syndrome （group C） were selected. Patients in three groups all received a long program of ovarian hyperstimulation. Additionally, electro-acupuncture was applied before controlled ovarian hyperstimulation （COH） and in the process of ovarian hyperstimulation. Contents of human leukocyte antigen G （HLA-G） in the serum were determined in three groups respectively on the 2nd day of menstruation （M2） and the day of human Chorionic Gonadotropin （hCG） injection. Content of HLA-G in the culture solution of three groups was examined separately on the day of embryo transplantation. The fertilization rate, implantation rate and clinical pregnancy rate were observed for patients in three groups. Results Contents of HLA-G in the serum on the day of hCG injection and in the culture solution on the day of embryo transplantation in group A and B were significantly higher than those in group C （all P0.05）. However, there was no significant difference with contents of HLA-G in serum on M2 day among three groups. The high quality embryo rate in either group A （73.6%, 352/478） or group B （70.6%, 379/537） was significantly higher than that in group C （54.2%, 208/384） with significantly statistical difference （all P0.01）. But there were no significant differences in clinical pregnancy rate, fertilization rate and cleavage rate among three groups. Conclusion Electro-acupuncture combined could increase contents of HLA-G in the body and the level of HLA-G secreted from embryos of patients in the process of IVF-ET. Eventually, the pregnancy outcome and the pregnancy rate are improved. It showed better clinical effects of electro-acupuncture for patients with kidney deficiency and liver qi stagnation syndromes than those of phlegm dampness syndome.

Establishment of human embryonic stem cell line from gamete donors

Background Human embryonic stem (HES) cell derived from human blastocyst can be propagated indefinitely in the primitive undifferentiated state while remaining pluripotent It has exciting potential in human developmental biology, drug discovery, and transplantation medicine But there are insufficieot HES cell lines for further study Methods Three oocyte donors were studied, and 3 in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles were carried out to get blastocysts for the establishment of HES cell line Isolated from blastocysts immunosurgically, inner cell mass (ICM) was cultured and propagated on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) Once established, morphology, cell surface markers, karyotype and differentiating ability of the cell line were thoroughly analyzedResults Four ICMs from 7 blastocysts were cultured on MEFs After culture, one cell line (cHES1) was established and met the criteria for defining human pluripotent stem cells including a series of markers used to identify pluripotent stem cells, morphological similarity to primate embryonic stem cells and HES reported else where. Normal and stable karyotype maintained over 60 passages, and demonstrated ability to differentiate into a wide variety of cell types Conclusions HES cell lines can be established from gamete donors at a relatively highly efficient rate The establishment will exert a widespread impact on biomedical research