Full-term development of nuclear transfer calves produced from open-pulled straw (OPS) vitrified cytoplasts: Work in progress

Cryopreservation of cytoplasts would help to resolve the logistics of matching the availability of oocytes with embryo donors in nuclear transfer. Therefore, the developmental potential of nuclear transfer bovine embryos reconstructed using vitrified cytoplasts was investigated. In vitro matured oocytes were denuded, enucleated, activated with calcium ionophore (10 mu M, 5 min) and cycloheximide (10 mu g/mL, 6 h) and then vitrified by the open pulled straw (OPS) method. After immediate warming, the nuclear transfer embryos were reconstructed using blastomeres from nonvitrified,in vitro-produced embryo donors. Compared with control nuclear transfer embryos that were reconstructed using nonvitrified cytoplasts, fusion rates (% +/- SEM) were not affected (83.7 +/- 9.2 vs 79.8 +/- 4.6; P>0.05), but cleavage (55.7 +/- 2.9 vs 92.8 +/- 3.9; P=0.0002) and blastocyst rates (7.2 +/- 5.0 vs 32.6 +/- 7.8; P=0.0025, vitrified vs nonvitrified cytoplasts, respectively) per successful fusion were reduced. One nuclear transfer blastocyst reconstructed from a vitrified cytoplast was transferred to a synchronized recipient. After a normal length gestation (265 d), twin calves (21 and 26 kg) were delivered. Microsatellite analysis confirmed that the calves were homozygotic (the embryo split in utero), and were derived from the in vitro-produced embryo donor. The twins were dead at birth, but post-mortem analysis of the calves indicated no abnormalities or infections, suggesting that their death was related to the twin pregnancy and the known fragility of nuclear transfer calves. These data demonstrate that open pulled straw-vitrified cytoplasts are capable of supporting full-term development of nuclear transfer embryos. (C) 1999 by Elsevier Science Inc.