Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “egg quality”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Serum is not necessary in human in vitro fertilization, early embryo culture, and transfer.

Human in vitro fertilization (IVF), embryo culture (EC), and embryo transfer (ET) are commonly performed in various media supplemented with blood serum. To determine whether serum is really necessary, the results of IVF, EC, and ET were compared by using two types of media: B2 medium supplemented with human cord serum and B3 medium without any serum. B3 medium is similar to B2, except that it contains 1% pure controlled human serum albumin in place of 1% bovine serum albumin. We did not observe any difference between the results obtained by using B2 or B3 at any phase of IVF, EC, and ET processes. Both media give an overall evolutive pregnancy rate of about 16%. B3 medium with serum seems to increase slightly the cleavage speed. Our results indicate that there are no positive effects when serum is used for human IVF-ET. To avoid serum supplementation is of evident interest for the homogeneity of the results. This will also lead to a better understanding of human early development and control of the egg quality by metabolic analysis of the media following in vitro EC.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Comparison between nafarelin and leuprolide acetate for in vitro fertilization: preliminary clinical study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effect of two different biochemical GnRH agonists (GnRH-a), nafarelin acetate and leuprolide acetate (LA), as adjunct to induction of ovulation in patients for IVF. DESIGN: Twenty-four women were assigned randomly to either nafarelin acetate or LA during IVF cycles. SETTING: University-affiliated clinics. PATIENTS: Infertile women undergoing IVF cycles in an academic research environment. INTERVENTIONS: Intranasal nafarelin at a dosage of 200 micrograms twice daily or LA at a dose of 1 mg/d SC was administered. Blood samples were collected on day 21 of previous cycle, days 2 and 8, and before hCG injection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Patient response as indicated by follicular phase serum levels of E2, FSH, and LH. RESULTS: Hormone profiles on cycle day 2 showed no statistical difference between both GnRH-a groups in FSH levels and a slight statistical difference for E2 levels. Patient response as demonstrated by follicular phase of E2, FSH, and LH measured on cycle day 8 and the day of hCG injection showed no statistically significant difference in both groups. Furthermore, the mean number of follicles, eggs retrieved, egg quality, fertilization rate, and number of embryos transferred and frozen were similar. The cycle cancellation rate and pregnancy rate per stimulation start were also not statistically different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The study shows the comparable efficacy of these two drugs in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) protocols. The easy administration of nafarelin with prompt nasal absorption and the readily achieved blood level made nafarelin an option for use in COH in assisted reproductive technology.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed2000

Sperm deposition site during ICSI affects fertilization and development.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of sperm placement during ICSI relative to the M-II spindle location on fertilization and preimplantation development. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of oocyte fertilization and embryo development with respect to sperm deposition site during ICSI. SETTING: A program of IVF-ET. PATIENT(S): Seven hundred seventy-six patients. INTERVENTION(S): Egg quality, sperm deposition site, and polar-body position were recorded during ICSI; fertilization was assessed on day 1; embryo development was evaluated on days 2 and 3. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Fertilization, embryo development, and implantation rates. RESULT(S): Normal fertilization is not affected by polar-body orientation, with the exception of a significantly lower fertilization rate from a 9 o'clock polar-body orientation. Injections with the polar-body positioned at 7 or 11 o'clock result in the greatest number of high-quality embryos, significantly more than the adjacent 6 or 12 o'clock polar-body orientations and irrespective of oocyte anomaly frequency. Embryos originating from the 7 or 11 o'clock polar-body category implant at a higher rate, although the data are not significant. CONCLUSION(S): The placement of the sperm during ICSI relative to the presumed location of the meiotic spindle significantly impacts fertilization and high-quality embryo development. Sperm deposition in the M-II spindle area should be avoided. It appears that development, and not fertilization, is improved by decreasing the distance between the sperm cell and the spindle.

Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed1994

Results in the United States with sperm microaspiration retrieval techniques and assisted reproductive technologies. The Sperm Microaspiration Retrieval Techniques Study Group.

Improved methods of urological microsurgery and of various assisted reproductive technologies have resulted in the ability to achieve pregnancies with sperm aspirated microsurgically from men with bilateral congenital absence of the vasa deferentia or with ductal obstructions that cannot be surgically reconstructed. A survey was conducted of the results of such procedures performed in the United States during approximately 2 years. Female partner ovarian stimulation was initiated in 219 instances at 22 centers. Of the 219 procedures 23 (11%) were terminated without attempting any form of gamete fertilization or insemination of the wife for various reasons (no sperm or too few sperm retrieved, poor to absent sperm motility or poor quality eggs). The etiology of azoospermia in the 219 procedures was congenital absence of the vasa deferentia in 115 cases (52%), other congenital conditions in 15 (7%), failed vasectomy reversal in 37 (17%), infection in 4 (2%), other conditions (mainly ejaculatory dysfunctions that did not respond to electroejaculation and complex ductal obstructions) in 26 (12%) and not specified in 22 (10%). When only patient sperm was used pregnancy was achieved in 12 of 115 wives (10%) of those men who had congenital absence of the vasa deferentia and in 0 to 14% of the wives of men whose azoospermia was caused by other conditions. Of the 219 menstrual cycles in which ovarian stimulation was initiated pregnancy occurred in 24 (11%) with patient sperm and in 9 (4%) with donor sperm. Of these 33 pregnancies a full-term, live delivery occurred in 17 (52%), while 8 (24%) were ongoing at the time of reporting, 2 (6%) miscarried, 3 (9%) were chemical pregnancies, 1 (3%) resulted in a stillborn child and the outcome was unknown in 2 (6%). This new therapy offers only a modest chance of pregnancy. However, it affords men with azoospermia the opportunity to achieve paternity with their own sperm when other therapies are not available or applicable.

Epididymis↗
PubMed2003

Effect of prostaglandin F2alpha on gonadal carbohydrate metabolism of silkworm, Bombyx mori L.

Effect of prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) on carbohydrate accumulation in gonads of the multivoltine silkworm (hybrid: Xinhang x Keming) has been studied by means of topical application to larvae of the silkworm. Increased weights of larvae and reproduction organs, as well as carbohydrate metabolism in gonads of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. was found after treatment with prostaglandin F2alpha. The increase in weight (larvae 21.9%, testis 28.9%, and ovary 33.3%) was associated with increases in the biomolecules (20-30%) and LDH and aldolase activity (18-25%). The results suggest that the accumulation of carbohydrates denotes a higher extent of utility of the energy sources in function of the testes and ovaries, and the routine application of prostaglandin F2alpha would be helpful in improving the reproductivity and egg quality of the silkworm.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Developmental consequences of cryopreservation of mammalian oocytes and embryos.

During the last three decades, significant advances have been made in successful cryopreservation of mammalian preimplantation embryos, and more recently oocytes. The ability to cryopreserve, thaw, and establish pregnancies with supernumerary preimplantation embryos has become an important tool in fertility treatment. Human oocyte cryopreservation has practical application in preserving fertility for individuals at risk of compromised egg quality due to cancer treatments or advanced maternal age. While oocyte/embryo cryopreservation success has increased over time, there is still room for improvement. Oocytes and embryos are susceptible to cryo-damage, which collectively entails cellular damage caused by mechanical, chemical, or thermal forces during the freeze-thaw process. Basic studies focused on understanding cellular structures, their composition, and more importantly their functions, in normal cell developments will continue to be critical in assessing, understanding, and correcting oocyte/embryo cryo-damage. This review will delineate many of the oocyte/embryo intracellular and extracellular structures that are or may be compromised during cryopreservation. A global theme presented throughout this review is that many structural components of the oocyte/embryo also have essential functional roles in development. Compromising these cellular structures, and thus their cellular homeostatic functions, can deleteriously influence initial cryo-survival or compromise subsequent normal development through effects on the oocyte and/or early embryo.

Actins↗
PubMed2003

Dietary methionine requirement of the Chinese egg-laying duck.

1. The dietary methionine requirement of egg-laying ducks was assessed by feeding diets supplemented with graded levels of DL-methionine (0, 4, 8, 12, 16 g/kg dietary protein) for 8 weeks. The basal diet contained 175 g protein and 2.6 g methionine per kg feed (or 14.9 g/kg protein) and an estimated ME of 11.5 MJ/kg. 2. A total of 800 Shaoxin laying ducks (420 d old) were randomly divided into 5 groups of 160 each and fed in 4 separate pens. 3. Dietary supplementation of methionine significantly increased egg production and feed conversion efficiency. 4. Dietary methionine requirement for optimum egg production was estimated to be 25.7 g/kg of dietary protein or 4.5 g/kg of the diet or 380 mg/bird-d. 5. Methionine supplementation increased the methionine level in plasma, and the free glutamic acid and aspartic acid concentrations in plasma were quadratically related to dietary methionine levels. Increasing dietary methionine had little effect on egg quality characteristics.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1987

Withdrawal of zinc oxide-containing diets from mature, female domestic fowl: effects on laying performance and the weights of selected tissues.

1. Two hundred and sixteen laying hens of two strains were given diets containing ZnO to provide 0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 2.00, 3.00 or 4.00 g added Zn/kg. These diets were given ad libitum for 5 consecutive 28-d periods. All hens subsequently received the control diet with no added ZnO for 5 weeks. 2. Four hens from each treatment were killed 0, 1 and 5 weeks after substitution of the ZnO-supplemented diets by the control diet. 3. The adverse effects of the ZnO-containing diets on body weight, food intake, egg production, pancreas, gizzard, oviduct and ovary weights/kg body weight were reversed by removal of the ZnO from the diets. 4. Five weeks after withdrawal egg production of the group which had received the diet with the highest concentration of added ZnO was only 50% of that of the control birds. 5. The beneficial effect of the added ZnO on internal egg quality was not maintained after withdrawal of the ZnO-containing diets.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Trait association of genetic markers in the growth hormone and the growth hormone receptor gene in a White Leghorn strain.

Alleles of the growth hormone (GH) gene and GH receptor (GHR) gene were analyzed for association with juvenile body weight (HBWT), age at first egg (AFE), the hen-day rate of egg production (HDR), egg specific gravity (SPG), and egg weight (EWT) in a strain of White Leghorns. The particular strain segregated at near equal frequencies for two GH alleles defined by differences at three restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) and for two GHR alleles defined by a single RFLP. The GH genotype was significantly associated with AFE (P < or = 0.04) as well as HDR from 274 to 385 d (P < or = 0.04) and 386 to 497 d (P < or = 0.0003). The GHR genotype (haploid in female chickens) had trends for association with HBW (P < or = 0.06) and HDR from AFE to 273 d (P < or = 0.07). The effects on the egg quality traits SPG and EWT were not significant. Regression analysis revealed that HDR was associated negatively with AFE and positively with HBWT. The slope of the regression line of HDR on AFE varied with the GH genotype, with the effect that the differences in HDR between GH genotypes was relatively small in chickens with early AFE and large in chickens with late AFE. Similarly, the slope of the regression of HDR on HBWT varied between GHR genotypes, with the result that the effect of the GHR genotype on HDR in chickens with low HBWT was opposite to its effect in chickens with high HBWT. The complex relationship between genotypes and traits may reflect gene interaction and indicates that simple models based on additive gene effects may not be adequate for the dissection of the genetic architecture of quantitative traits.

Aging↗
PubMed1998

Health and production in improved cage designs.

This paper describes the effects of various cage designs on health characteristics such as skeleton strength, plumage and foot condition, mortality, and some production traits such as egg quality and feed consumption. Three major steps in improving cage design and in developing new cage designs are described. Firstly, cage design in general has been improved by comparing different conventional commercial cage designs under the same experimental conditions. Secondly, unconventional design features, such as an abrasive strip to reduce excessive growth of claws or a perch to improve the behavioral repertoire for the hens as well as to strengthen skeletal structure, are described. Thirdly, the effects of fully furnished cages that also include a nest and dustbath for smaller or larger groups of birds are discussed. These designs create an environment in which the problems of conventional cages, such as behavioral restriction, are reduced and the shortcomings of large litter aviaries, such as cannibalism, parasites, and a poor working environment, are improved. Cages with one perch level containing groups of 4 to 10 hens seem more likely alternatives to conventional cages on larger scale farms than litter systems or colony cages for more than 10 birds. This is due mainly to the higher predictability of production, the decreased risk of cannibalism, and improved hygienic conditions.

Animal Welfare↗
PubMed2005

Effects of qualitative feed restriction during rearing on the performance of broiler breeders during rearing and lay.

To prevent health and fertility problems associated with excessive weight gain, broiler breeders are severely feed restricted during rearing, which may affect welfare. We compared the effects of an experimental ad libitum feeding regimen based on qualitative restriction of food intake with conventional quantitative food restriction on the performance of female broiler breeders during rearing and lay. During rearing up to 20 wk of age, control birds were fed restricted amounts of standard broiler breeder mash once daily. Experimental birds had ad libitum access to the same standard mash mixed with 400 g of oat hulls/kg of feed and increasing concentrations of Ca propionate, an appetite suppressant. Mean total mash intake during rearing was 8.12 kg and did not differ between treatments. Both control and experimental birds showed an almost linear growth curve, treatment mean body weights were always within 100 g of the target weight line, and treatments did not differ for body weight uniformity. Groups were subjected to the same quantitative feed restriction from during lay. Feeding regimen during rearing did not affect number of eggs produced, egg weight, or egg quality up to 46 wk of age. We concluded that it may not be necessary to subject chicks to severe quantitative feed restriction to achieve desirable growth curves and body weight uniformity during rearing. Qualitative restriction of feed intake can achieve desirable growth curves in ad libitum fed chicks during rearing, and such a feeding regimen does not have negative effects on hen performance during lay.

Aging↗
PubMed2005

Comparison of nicarbazin absorption in chickens, mallards, and Canada geese.

Nicarbazin (NCZ), a coccidiostat commonly used in the poultry industry, causes reduced hatchability and egg quality in layer hens at a concentration of 125 ppm (8.4 mg/kg) in the feed. Although this effect is undesirable in the poultry industry, NCZ could provide a useful wildlife contraception tool for waterfowl, particularly urban geese. We tested the absorption of NCZ in chickens (Gallus gallus), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and Canada geese (Branta canadensis) gavaged with 8.4 mg of NCZ/kg per bird each day for 8 d. Plasma levels of 4,4'-dinitrocarbanilide (DNC) differed significantly among species. Peak plasma DNC levels were 2.87 +/- 0.15 microg/mL, 2.39 +/- 0.15 microg/mL, and 1.53 +/- 0.15 microg/ mL in chickens, mallards, and Canada geese respectively. It took 6 d to obtain peak DNC levels in chickens as opposed to 8 d in mallards and Canada geese. The half life of DNC in plasma was 1.43 d in chickens, 0.72 d in mallards, and 1.26 d in Canada geese. Mallards eliminated 100% of plasma DNC 4 d post-treatment, whereas Canada geese eliminated 100% of plasma DNC 8 d post-treatment. Chickens had only eliminated 99% of plasma DNC 8 d post-treatment. Mallard plasma DNC levels were highly correlated with Canada goose plasma DNC levels. This research showed mallards are an ideal model species for the Canada goose for future reproductive studies on NCZ in a laboratory setting. However, levels higher than 8.4 mg/kg must be fed to waterfowl in order to obtain a plasma level comparable to chickens.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Molecular cloning and expression of ovarian cathepsin D in seabream, Sparus aurata.

In marine fish producing pelagic eggs, the acquirement of buoyancy by the eggs through the hydration process is a key event of reproduction; moreover, the yolk proteolysis, which leads to buoyancy, seems to affect the fertility and survival of the spawned eggs. Recently we demonstrated that cathepsin D is the aspartic protease responsible for this intraoocytic processing of vitellogenin into yolk proteins. In the present study, we isolated, cloned, and sequenced the cDNA encoding cathepsin D and studied expression of the message by Northern blotting and whole-mount in situ hybridization. The full-length seabream cathepsin D cDNA is 1837 base pairs long, encoding a protein of 400 amino acids (aa) consisting of a signal peptide of 19 aa, a prosequence of 44 aa, and a mature peptide of 336 aa. An absolute sequence conservation at the aspartyl residues (+33 and +221) was found, and there are three potential N-glycosylation sites at +70, aa +189, and aa +274. The aa sequence of seabream cathepsin D reveals a high degree of sequence similarity with cathepsin D mRNAs from other organisms (73% sequence homology to mouse and rat, 72% to human and trout, 69% to chicken, 66% to pig, and 65% to Xenopus). The cathepsin D mRNA in floating eggs was present as a single band that was approximately 1.9 kilobases (kb) in size, while in the sinking eggs there were several fast-migrating bands (size range 1.3-0.2 kb). Whole-mount hybridization was used to investigate transcription of cathepsin D in the developing embryo; during the hatching period, cathepsin D mRNA-positive cells were distributed in a wide region between the trunk and the tail, and in the ventral region over the yolk ball. The highest levels of cathepsin D enzymatic activity were found in the sinking eggs and during the hatching period of embryonic development. These data suggest that cathepsin D can be considered a possible marker for egg quality.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Genetic markers linked to quantitative traits in poultry.

This study utilized DNA fingerprints and crosses of two genetically distinct lines of layer-type chickens to identify genetic markers linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL). In phase I, backcross (BC1) hens were separately ranked for each of eight traits and then blood pools were produced in groups along each phenotypic distribution. The DNA was isolated from the blood pools and used in a gradient analysis to screen for DNA fingerprint bands that exhibited intensity gradients associated with the phenotypic traits. To identify linkage of bands with QTL and to estimate band effects, F2 progeny were produced in phase II from the phase I BC1 population. A single-trait animal model was used for analysis of associations of all individual DNA fingerprint bands of sires and their progeny phenotypic performance. Twenty fingerprint bands, only two of which had shown trait-associated gradients in phase I, were identified by the animal model analysis of the progeny test as QTL linked (P < or = 0.05) to specific traits of growth, reproduction and egg quality. These 20 bands warrant further study as potentially valuable molecular markers for QTL.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Random amplified polymorphic DNA markers in crosses between inbred lines of Rhode Island red and White Leghorn chickens.

Reciprocal crosses and backcrosses were conducted between inbred Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn chickens differentiated for egg production and egg quality traits. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers distinguishing inbred lines were detected. Twenty-two polymorphic bands were found from screening 120 single 10-mer random primers of which two were consistent with sex-linked markers. Of 90 pairwise two-point linkage analyses completed for the autosomal markers, four close linkages (8.2 cM to 14.9 cM) were significantly different from zero.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor, osteopontin, insulin-like growth factor 1 and insulin, and their associations with bone, egg and growth traits in a layer--broiler cross in chickens.

Bone strength traits in chickens are gaining importance due to economic losses and welfare concerns associated with bone fractures and other abnormalities. A chicken F2 resource population was generated from layer and broiler genetic lines, and traits relating to bone strength, egg production, egg quality and growth rate were measured in approximately 500 F2 hens. Four biological candidate genes (vitamin D receptor, VDR; insulin, INS; insulin-like growth factor 1, IGF1; and osteopontin, SPP1) were selected for investigation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified for each candidate gene by comparing sequences between grandparent lines. Polymerase chain reaction restriction-fragment length polymorphism or SNaPshot assays were developed to genotype the F2 population and to evaluate associations between each SNP genotype and multiple phenotypes. Significant associations (P < 0.0125) were found between VDR and bone mineral content of the humerus at 35 weeks of age; between IGF1 and SPP1 and 5-week body weight; and between INS and 55-week body weight.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Within clutch co-variation of egg mass and sex in the black-headed gull.

Female birds of several species have control over the production of daughters and sons. However, most studies failed to find a relationship between egg size and sex. This is intriguing as adjustment of egg size would constitute a powerful tool for the female to meet different resource demands of the sexes, particularly in size dimorphic species. Our results show that, within clutches of black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) the proportion of males was positively associated with egg mass. This applied for all three laying positions, independently of the absolute egg mass. There was a significant relationship between the distribution of the sexes over the laying sequence and the egg mass change. When egg mass decreased over the sequence, first-laid eggs were male biased and last-laid eggs female biased, and vice versa. The potential adaptive value of this allocation strategy is evaluated with regard to male sensitivity to egg quality and competitive differences between the sexes.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Can ovarian infertility be treated with bone marrow- or ovary-derived germ cells?

A year ago, reproductive biologists and general public were astonished with evidence reported by Johnson et al. in Nature 428:145 that mammalian ovaries possess persisting large germline stem cells, which allegedly enable follicular renewal in adult females. Recently, the same research group declared such view obscure, and reported that mammalian oocytes originate from putative germ cells in bone marrow and are distributed by peripheral blood to the ovaries (Cell 122:303). While neglecting available data on the germ cell origin from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) in adult mouse and human females and complexity of follicular renewal in humans, the authors widely extrapolated their observations on formation of allogeneic oocytes after bone marrow (or blood) transplantation in ovaries of adult mice treated with cytostatics to clinical implications in the public media. Yet, the resulting outcome that such allogeneic oocytes may enable the propagation of ovarian cycles is a poor alleviation for the women with ovarian infertility. Women lacking primary follicles, or carrying follicles with low quality eggs persisting in aging ovaries, are not concerned about the lack of menstrual cycles or ovarian steroids, but about virtually no chance of having genetically related children. Johnson et al. also reported that the germ cell formation in bone marrow disappears in ovariectomized mice. Such observation, however, raises solid doubts on the bone marrow origin of oocytes. Since germ cells developing from the OSE cells of adult human ovaries during periodical follicular renewal are known to enter blood vessels in order to enable formation of primary follicles at distant ovarian sites, they also contaminate peripheral blood and hence bone marrow. Better knowledge on the complexity of follicular renewal in humans and exploration of a potential of human OSE cells to produce new oocytes in vitro are essential for novel approaches to the autologous treatment of premature ovarian failure and age induced ovarian infertility.

Animals↗