Animal reproduction science.
Publisher:
Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co.
Frequency: Twenty eight no. a year, 2008-
Country: Netherlands
Language: English
Start Year:1978 -
ISSN:
0378-4320 (Print)
1873-2232 (Electronic)
0378-4320 (Linking)
1873-2232 (Electronic)
0378-4320 (Linking)
Impact Factor
2.2
2022
| NLM ID: | 7807205 |
| (DNLM): | A31035000(s) |
| (OCoLC): | 04122595 |
| Coden: | ANRSDV |
| LCCN: | sc 80000012 |
| Classification: | W1 AN228V |
Efficiency of short-term storage of equine semen in a simple-design cooling system. Five experiments tested the efficiency of a simple, low-cost system (CP) for cooling and storing equine semen at 2.0 degrees C for 24 h and 48 h. Pantaneiro stallions of known fertility were used. Semen quality was evaluated for progressive motility (PM), plasma membrane integrity (PMI), and pregnancy rate. Experiment 1 showed that PM and PMI were similar between CP and the control (Equitainer) in cooled semen. In Experiment 2, the influence was evaluated of combinations (four treatments) of two volumes (50/100 ml) and two sperm concentrations (500/750x10(6)) on sperm quality of semen cooled a...
Mechanisms behind intrauterine device-induced luteal persistence in mares. Intrauterine glass balls are used to prevent oestrous signs in sports mares, but the mechanism of action is unknown. It has been suggested that the glass ball can mimic an embryo or act via an induced chronic uterine inflammation and absent or continuous low-grade prostaglandin (PG) release. The purpose of this study was to induce prolonged luteal function in mares using a small intrauterine device (IUD) and to study the mechanisms behind prolonged IUD-induced luteal function. A uterine swab and a biopsy specimen were obtained in early oestrus. A water-filled plastic ball, diameter 20mm and we...
In vitro equine oocyte maturation in pure follicular fluid plus interleukin-1 and fertilization following ICSI. The interleukin-1 (IL-1) system is thought to be involved in periovulatory events in the mare. Previous in vivo studies have demonstrated that IL-1beta induces oocyte maturation, but depresses the pregnancy rate 14 days after ovulation. To better understand the role of IL-1 in oocyte maturation and fertilization, the effects of IL-1 on the in vitro maturation rate of equine oocytes in pure follicular fluid were evaluated and fertilization rate assessed following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Oocytes collected from slaughterhouse ovaries were cultured in four different media for 30 h...
Morphometric classification of Spanish thoroughbred stallion sperm heads. This work used semen samples collected from 12 stallions and assessed for sperm morphometry by the Sperm Class Analyzer (SCA) computer-assisted system. A discriminant analysis was performed on the morphometric data from that sperm to obtain a classification matrix for sperm head shape. Thereafter, we defined six types of sperm head shape. Classification of sperm head by this method obtained a globally correct assignment of 90.1%. Moreover, significant differences (p<0.05) were found between animals for all the sperm head morphometric parameters assessed.
Effect on fertility of human chorionic gonadotrophin and uterine lavage with oxytocin performed after mating in Arabian barren mares. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the beneficial effect of hCG injected immediately after mating in Arabian barren mares treated with uterine lavage and oxytocin. Arabian barren mares (n=36) with PMIE were subjected to detailed clinical examinations including palpation per rectum, vaginoscopy, and cytological examination. After mating the 36 mares were randomly divided into four groups. The mares in group 1 (n=10) were immediately after breeding injected with hCG 3,000 IU IM. Uterine lavage with 1L of N-saline containing 4 million IU of crystalline penicillin and 4 g of strept...
Potential involvement of EGF-like growth factors and phosphodiesterases in initiation of equine oocyte maturation. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) was administered to mares in estrus with large, dominant ovarian follicles to initiate follicular and oocyte maturation. Follicular contents were collected at 0, 2, 4 and 6 h after hCG. Epiregulin, amphiregulin and phosphodiesterase (PDE) mRNA contents of granulosa cells (PDE 4D) were determined by reverse transcription and real-time PCR; PDE 3A mRNA content of single oocytes was determined similarly. Copy numbers of mRNA did not increase for PDE 3A or 4D over the time interval studied. Amounts of epiregulin and amphiregulin mRNA were correlated (r=0.98) when...
Temporal relationships among LH, estradiol, and follicle vascularization preceding the first compared with later ovulations during the year in mares. Diameter of the preovulatory follicle, plasma concentrations of LH and estradiol, and vascularization of the follicle wall, based on color-Doppler signals, were characterized in 40 pony mares for 6 days preceding ovulation (Days -6 to -1; preovulatory period). Comparisons between the preovulatory periods preceding the first compared with a later ovulation during the year were used to study the relationships between LH and estradiol and between vascularization and estradiol. Diameter of the preovulatory follicle was greater (P<0.02) and concentration of LH was less (P<0.02) during the fir...
Xenografting of adult mammalian testis tissue. Xenografting of testis tissue from immature males from several mammalian species to immunodeficient mouse hosts results in production of fertilization-competent sperm. However, the efficiency of testis tissue xenografting from adult donors has not been critically evaluated. Testis tissue xenografting from sexually mature animals could provide an option to preserve the genetic material from valuable males when semen for cryopreservation cannot be collected. To assess the potential use of this technique for adult individuals, testes from adult animals of six species (pig, goat, cattle, donkey, h...
The quantification of lipid and protein oxidation in stallion spermatozoa and seminal plasma: seasonal distinctions and correlations with DNA strand breaks, classical seminal parameters and stallion fertility. The goal of this work was to correlate oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage with classic semen parameters in spermatozoa and seminal plasma of fertile and subfertile stallions. Oxidation was measured in both lipids and proteins, using the thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) assay and the DNPH carbonyl groups assay, respectively. Sperm DNA damage was monitored using the TUNEL assay. These parameters were monitored in samples obtained during the breeding and the non-breeding seasons. In general, fertile stallions showed better classical semen parameter...
The effect of oxytocin and PGF2alpha on the uterine involution and pregnancy rates in postpartum Arabian mares. In this study, the effects of oxytocin and an analog of prostaglandin (cloprostenol) on the uterine involution and pregnancy rates were investigated. Mares received 3 ml of 0.9% NaCl in Group C (n=10), 30 IU/mare of oxytocin in Group O (n=10) and 250 microg/mare of cloprostenol in Group P (n=10) within 12h after parturition. The gravid uterine horn's cross-sectional diameter was measured by ultrasonography. The mean uterine diameters did not differ significantly between the treatment (O and P) and the control (C) groups (p>0.05). The difference between the postpartum ovulation periods (Grou...
A case of blind vagina in a crossbred Lusitano mare. This report describes a case of blind vagina diagnosed during a pre-breeding evaluation of a 5-year-old crossbred Lusitano mare. This mare was mated twice during the previous breeding season but remained open. Clinical evaluation revealed the existence of follicles in the ovaries and an enlarged uterus. An ultrasound examination showed that a granular free-floating fluid distended the uterus. No connection was detected between the uterus and the vagina and a presumptive diagnosis of congenital vaginal obstruction was raised. On vaginal examination it was noticed that the vagina was short in de...
Seasonal changes in ovarian activity: lessons learnt from the horse. The annual reproductive cycle in the horse involves a reduction in ovarian activity during short days. The absence of ovulatory activity during winter has important consequences for an equine industry eager to breed mares early during the year. The anovulatory season results from a reduction in the secretion of pituitary gonadotropin that is in turn triggered by the inhibitory effects of short photoperiod on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis. Recent studies have provided evidence that the response of the ovaries to endocrine stimuli during the anovulatory season is affected not only by circulati...
Effects of reproductive status and management on cortisol secretion and fertility of oestrous horse mares. Stressful events may contribute to low reproductive efficiency due to glucocorticoid-mediated inhibition of hormone secretion in a variety of species. We therefore investigated effects of stress related to management of mares around artificial insemination on secretion of cortisol and fertility parameters. To avoid further disturbance of mares by frequent blood sampling, faecal cortisol metabolites (fCM) were determined instead (sample collection at 8-h intervals). A total of 50 mares (16 maiden, 17 barren, 12 foaling, 5 teaching mares) were included in the study. Mares were brought to the AI ...
Developmental competence of equine oocytes and embryos obtained by in vitro procedures ranging from in vitro maturation and ICSI to embryo culture, cryopreservation and somatic cell nuclear transfer. Development of assisted reproductive technologies in horses has been relatively slow compared to other domestic species, namely ruminants and pigs. The scarce availability of abattoir ovaries and the lack of interest from horse breeders and breed associations have been the main reasons for this delay. Progressively though, the technology of oocyte maturation in vitro has been established followed by the application of ICSI to achieve fertilization in vitro. Embryo culture was initially performed in vivo, in the mare oviduct or in the surrogate sheep oviduct, to achieve the highest embryo devel...
Effect of holding technique and culture drop size in individual or group culture on blastocyst development after ICSI of equine oocytes with low meiotic competence. The effect of medium-to-embryo ratio on blastocyst development of equine embryos from oocytes with compact cumuli was evaluated in the present experiment. In addition, two methods for holding oocytes before in vitro maturation were compared. In Experiment 1, oocytes cultured with roscovitine for 16-18h before maturation were fertilized by intracytoplasmic sperm injection and cultured individually in 2.5, 5, 10 or 50microl droplets. In Experiment 2, oocytes were either cultured with roscovitine or held in a modified M199 with 20% serum at room temperature (EH treatment) for 16-18h, then matured...
Evaluation of three equine FSH superovulation protocols in mares. Superovulation could potentially increase embryo recovery for immediate transfer or cryopreservation. The objectives were to evaluate the effect of pretreatment with progesterone and estradiol (P+E) on follicular response to eFSH and compare doses of eFSH and ovulatory agents on follicular development and ovulation in mares. In Experiment 1, 40 mares were assigned to one of four treatment groups. Group 1 consisted of untreated controls. Group 2 mares were administered eFSH without pretreatment with P+E. Group 3 mares were administered P+E for 10 days starting in mid-diestrus followed by eFSH t...
Post-testicular changes in the density and distribution of intramembrane particles of stallion sperm surface domains. Freeze-fracture replicas of stallion spermatozoa, collected from the proximal caput, corpus and cauda epididymides regions, were analyzed by electron microscopy to explore the distribution and density of intramembrane particles (IMP). Conspicuous differences in density and arrangement of the IMP were observed in the different topographical domains of mature and immature spermatozoa. A reduction of IMP, especially remarkable in the post-acrosomal domain, was observed in mature epididymal spermatozoa when compared with samples collected from ductuli efferentes. Some structural species-specific d...
Characterization of galactose-binding proteins in equine testis and spermatozoa. Carbohydrate-binding proteins are thought to be involved in a myriad of sperm functions including sperm-oviductal and sperm-zona interactions. Recent studies in our laboratory have characterized galactose-binding proteins on equine spermatozoa as possible candidate molecules for sperm adhesion to oviduct epithelial cells. In the current study, equine sperm membrane proteins were subjected to galactose-affinity chromatography, and bound proteins were eluted with excess galactose in a calcium-free buffer. The eluted fraction recovered after galactose-affinity chromatography was used for generati...
Aspiration of oocytes from transitional, cycling, and pregnant mares. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of three approaches for recovering equine oocytes via transvaginal ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration. Fourteen mares were used as oocyte donors during the spring transition period and physiologic breeding season, and 11 mares were bred for use as oocyte donors during early gestation. In all mares, large (>20 mm) and small (10-20 mm) follicles were aspirated in eight rounds every 10-11 days. In each of the four rounds during the transition period, half the mares received 12.5 mg eFSH once daily for 4 days prior to aspiration. For each of t...
Follicle deviation and diurnal variation in circulating hormone concentrations in mares. The temporal relationships between follicle deviation and systemic hormone concentrations were studied in mares. Blood samples were obtained at 01:00, 07:00, 13:00, and 19:00 h from nine mares throughout an interovulatory interval. Diurnal variation in progesterone occurred on Days 4-12 and in LH on Days 4 and 5; the lowest concentration for both hormones was at 13:00 h. Ultrasonically observed deviation in the ovulatory follicular wave began on Day 15.7+/-0.5 (ovulation=Day 0). An increase (P<0.002) in LH began on Day 14 before the beginning of deviation, and an increase (P<0.05) in est...
Effect of ACTH (tetracosactide) on steroid hormone levels in the mare. Part A: effect in intact normal mares and mares with possible estrous related behavioral abnormalities. Ovariectomized mares and mares with inactive ovaries may show signs of estrus. The reason behind this phenomenon is not clear; however, steroid hormones of adrenal origin have been suggested. Moreover, aberrant adrenal hormone production has been implied as a reason why some intact mares may change behavior. In the present study, the effect of ACTH on plasma levels of cortisol, progesterone, androstenedione and testosterone was investigated in intact mares with normal estrous behavior ('controls', n=5) and intact mares that according to their owners showed deviant estrous behavior ('problem' m...
Effect of ACTH (tetracosactide) on steroid hormone levels in the mare. Part B: effect in ovariectomized mares (including estrous behavior). The mare is the only non-primate species known to display estrous signs after ovariectomy and adrenal hormones have been implicated as a possible cause. Moreover, in several species, estradiol seems to have a stimulatory effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of ACTH (tetracosactide) on pertinent hormones [cortisol, progesterone, androstenedione, testosterone (intact and ovariectomized mares) and estradiol (ovariectomized mares only)] in intact mares in estrus with the same mares after ovariectomy (n=5). Blood samples were coll...
Superovulation in mares. Embryo recovery from single ovulating mares is approximately 50 per cent per estrous cycle. Superovulation could be used to increase embryo recovery and provide extra embryos for embryo freezing. This review addresses some historical approaches to superovulation, as well as examines factors that affect the response of mares to equine FSH. eCG, GnRH and inhibin vaccines have been of limited success in stimulating multiple ovulation. Numerous studies have shown that injection of equine pituitary extract (EPE) will result in three to four ovulations per estrous cycle and two embryos. A purified, ...
Superovulation in mares. Embryo recovery from single ovulating mares is approximately 50 per cent per estrous cycle. Superovulation could be used to increase embryo recovery and provide extra embryos for embryo freezing. This review addresses some historical approaches to superovulation, as well as examines factors that affect the response of mares to equine FSH. eCG, GnRH and inhibin vaccines have been of limited success in stimulating multiple ovulation. Numerous studies have shown that injection of equine pituitary extract (EPE) will result in three to four ovulations per estrous cycle and two embryos. A purified, ...
Luteal blood flow and progesterone production in mares. The temporal relationships between blood flow in the corpus luteum (CL) and circulating progesterone concentrations were studied in 20 mares. Retrospective inspection of plasma progesterone concentrations indicated that a precipitous decrease occurred during Days 15-17 (Day 0 = ovulation) and was defined as the luteolytic period. Mean percentage of CL with color-Doppler signals for blood flow was maximum on Day 10 (77.3%), and Days 10-14 (49.8%) were defined as the preluteolytic period. The cross-sectional area of the CL decreased progressively from Day 4 (9.0 cm2) to Day 19 (1.5 cm2). Progest...
Cholesterol-to-phospholipid ratio in whole sperm and seminal plasma from fertile stallions and stallions with unexplained subfertility. Semen samples were collected from six fertile stallions and seven stallions with unexplained infertility. Percentages of motile sperm (77.5 +/- 11.3 versus 67.5 +/- 12.2, P = 0.2), and progressively motile sperm (70.8 +/- 13.6 versus 60.7 +/- 14.0, P = 0.2) were similar between fertile and subfertile stallions, respectively. Morphologic characteristics in ejaculates of control and affected stallions (% normal: 60.2 +/- 18.2 versus 52.9 +/- 11.3, P = 0.4; % abnormal heads 7.3 +/- 4.8 versus 12.1 +/- 5.0, P = 0.11; and % abnormal acrosomes 1.6 +/- 2.1 versus 3.0 +/- 3.4, P = 0.4) did not differ....
Surfactant proteins A and D in the genital tract of mares. The presence of surface-active material in the lung alveolus has been known for several decades as being essential for normal lung function. Surfactant is essential for reducing the surface tension at the alveolar air-liquid interface. Pulmonary surfactant is composed of 90% lipids and 10% proteins. There are four non-serum proteins surfactant protein-A (SP-A), surfactant protein-B (SP-B), surfactant protein-C (SP-C) and surfactant protein-D (SP-D) named in chronologic order of discovery. Lung SP-A and SP-D belong to a family of collagen-containing C-type lectin family called collectins. The h...
Influence of reproductive stage at PRID insertion on synchronization of estrus and ovulation in mares. In the present study, we investigated the effects of reproductive status, size of follicles and plasma progesterone concentrations of mares at PRID insertion on the efficacy of the treatment, estrous cycle patterns, plasma concentrations of progesterone and LH. The progesterone-releasing device (PRID) was administered intravaginally to 28 Haflinger mares for 11 days at different reproductive stages: anestrus (n=6), estrus (n=11) and diestrus (n=11). Plasma concentrations of progesterone at insertion (Day 1) of PRID differed among treatment groups (anestrus: 0.2-0.6 ng mL(-1), estrus: 0.2-0.5 a...
Leptin concentration in plasma and in milk during the interpartum period in the mare. The aim of this work is to investigate on plasma profiles of leptin and estradiol 17beta during the interpartum period and leptin concentrations in the milk and in the colostrum during the period from parturition to the successive delivery in mare. Leptin plasma concentration varied from 5.1+/-2.3 ng/ml after the first parturition (week 0) to 3.0+/-0.7 at week 21 (p<0.05), then it increased to maximal level at week 49 (6.9+/-1.0 ng/ml, p<0.05). Leptin concentration in the colostrum and in the milk has been significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in plasma samples at week 1 (milk 8.8+/...