Enhanced pregnancy rates in bovine embryo transfer using a hyaluronan- enriched transfer medium.

CANEPA MJ, MUTTO A

Sao Pedro

Congreso; ? III International Symposium on Animal Biology of Reproduction; 2008

SBRA

A number of reproductive technologies, namely in vitro maturation, in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and somatic cell nuclear transfer have been developed and improved over the past decades. Recent studies suggest that the enrichment of culture medium with hyaluronic acid can increase pregnancy rates in in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer programs or improves the rate of bovine embryonic development. The aim of this study was to verify if the presence of hyaluronan in transfer medium (EmbryoGlue^{$ eg#$}^) increases pregnancy rates when transferring bovine embryos produced in vivo. Two cows were superovulated, inseminated and flushed, obtaining fourteen grade seven-day embryos. The embryos collected were incubated in two different transfer media: 1) synthetic oviductal fluid, and 2) Hyaluronan medium (EmbryoGlue^{$ eg#$}^, Vitrolife. Colorado, USA). Subsequently, the embryos were transferred into the uterine horn of two previously synchronized recipients. Pregnancy was detected by ultrasonography. Significant differences in pregnancy rates between treatments were detected (p < 0.05)