In vitro maturation and fertilization of equine oocytes recovered during the breeding season

The aim of this study was to develope an efficient and reproducible procedure for in vitro maturation (IVM) and fertilization (IVF) in the horse. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) recovered from the ovaries of mares slaughtered during the breeding season were morphologically evaluated, and those showing a compact cumulus and homogeneously appearing cytoplasm were selected for culture. Effects on the maturation of estrous mare serum (EMS) versus estrous cow serum (ECS) as medium supplement were also evaluated (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, the fertilization of in vitro matured oocytes with frozen-thawed semen separated by swim-up and treated with heparin was carried out to determine the effects on fertilization of 1) increasing sperm concentrations (1x10(6), 5s10(6) and 1x10(7) sperm cells/ml), 2) IVM medium supplementation with EMS or ECS and 3) partial cumulus mass removal before insemination. Forty-nine percent of the collected oocytes (335/683) showed a compact cumulus and homogeneous ooplasm and thus were selected for culture. In Experiment 1, high nuclear maturation rates were observed in both EMS (82%,32/39) and ECS (87.5%,56/64) groups, with no statistically significant difference. In Experiment 3, the percentage of normal fertilization (2 polar bodies, 2 pronuclei and sperm tail) was similar for all 3 tested sperm concentrations (12.9%,4/31; 15.2%,9.59 and 15.5%,9/58). No advantage in using the homologous serum in IVM medium was noted in terms of fertilization (12.2%, 5/41 with EMS vs 12.9%, 4/31 for ECS). However, significantly higher fertilization rates were obtained after partial cumulus removal compared with that of oocytes fertilized with a whole cumulus (32.6%, 14/43 vs 12.2%, 5/41; P<0.05). The incidence of polyspermic fertilization was low under all culture conditions (0 to 2.4%). In a replicate in which the oocytes fertilized after the cumulus removal were further cultured for 72 h two embryos, one at the 2-cell stage and the other at the 4-cell stage, could be obtained. These results indicate that, in the horse, the cumulus can be partially removed to increase the fertilization and of compact-cumulus oocytes recovered during the breeding season using frozen-thawed, heparin-treated semen.