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Comparison of somatic embryogenesis-derived coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plantlets regenerated in vitro or ex vitro: morphological, mineral and water characteristics.

Coffea arabica L. plantlets obtained ex vitro after sowing somatic embryos produced in a bioreactor in horticultural substrate were compared with those obtained in vitro from the same embryo population under conventional culturing conditions on semi-solid media. The intensity and quality of aerial and root system development were compared. Shoot emergence was more efficient in vitro but rooting frequencies were low. In contrast, all ex vitro-regenerated embryos rooted. The cotyledon area of mature embryos produced in a bioreactor positively affected plantlet development when regeneration was carried out ex vitro. Embryos with an intermediate cotyledon area (0.86 cm2) had the highest rates of plant conversion ex vitro (63%), and also resulted in vigorous plantlets. Mortality was higher in nursery conditions, but better plant development was obtained. The quality of plantlets produced under ex vitro conditions was reflected in better growth of the aerial and root systems, and also by similar morphological, mineral and water status characteristics to seedlings. Unlike roots formed on semi-solid media, those produced in soil were branched, fine (30-50% had a diameter of less than 0-5 mm) and they bore root hairs. Leaves of plantlets regenerated ex vitro had a histological structure similar to that of seedling leaves, and a lower stomatal density (100 vs. 233 mm-2). Moreover, they were more turgid, as indicated by higher pressure potential (psiP) (0.91 s. 0.30 MPa) and relative water content values (97 vs. 93%). Furthermore, under in vitro conditions, leaves had larger stomata which were abnormally round and raised. Direct sowing of germinated somatic embryos resulted in the rapid production of vigorous plantlets under ex vitro conditions, whilst removing the need for problematical and costly conventional acclimatization procedures.

Coffea↗

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 development, in the range of 18-36% of the fertilised oocytes. Subsequently, the parallel improvement of in vitro oocyte maturation conditions and embryo culture media has permitted high rates of embryo development from in vitro matured and in vitro cultured ICSI embryos, ranging from 5 to 10% in the early studies to up to 38% in the latest ones. From 2003, with the birth of the first cloned equids, the technology of somatic cell nuclear transfer has also become established due to improvement of the basic steps of embryo production in vitro, including cryopreservation. Pregnancy and foaling rates are still estimated based on a small number of in vitro produced equine embryos transferred to recipients. The largest set of data on non-surgical embryo transfer of in vitro produced embryos, from ICSI of both abattoir and in vitro-matured Ovum Pick Up (OPU) oocytes, and from somatic cell nuclear transfer, has been obtained in our laboratory. The data demonstrate that equine embryos produced by OPU and then cryopreserved can achieve up to 69% pregnancy rate with a foaling rate of 83%. These percentages are reduced to 11 and 23%, respectively, for cloned embryos. In conclusion, extensive evidence exists that in vitro matured equine oocytes can efficiently develop into viable embryos and offspring.

Animals↗

Culture of in vitro produced bovine zygotes in vitro vs in vivo: implications for early embryo development and quality.

The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of culture system on bovine blastocyst formation rates and quality. Presumptive IVM/IVF bovine zygotes were cultured either in vitro in synthetic oviduct fluid (SOF, 25 embryos/25 microL in 5% CO2, 5% O2, 90% N2 at 39 degrees C) or in vivo in the ewe oviduct (approximately 100 embryos per oviduct). The recovery rate after in vivo culture was 53% (813/1,530). The blastocyst rate on Day 7 was significantly higher for the in vitro system (28%, 362/1,278 vs 17%, 37/813; P< 0.0001). However, after culture in vitro for a further 24 h, there was no difference in Day 8 yields (36%, 457/1,278 vs 32%, 258/813, for in vitro and in vivo culture, respectively). There was no difference in blastocyst cell number between treatments (Day 7: 96 vs 103; Day 8: 78 vs 85 for in vitro and in vivo culture, respectively). Irrespective of culture system, Day 7 blastocysts had a significantly higher cell number than those appearing on Day 8. There was no difference in pregnancy rate at Day 35 after fresh transfer of a single Day 7 blastocyst (37.5%, 21/56 vs 45.3%/, 24/53 for in vitro and in vivo culture, respectively). After cryopreservation by freezing in 10% glycerol, VS3a vitrification or solid surface vitrification, the survival of in vitro cultured embryos was significantly lower than survival of embryos cultured in the ewe oviduct or those produced by superovulation of donors. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that while bovine zygotes cultured in vitro are capable of rates of development similar to those of their in vivo cultured counterparts (in terms of Day 8 blastocyst yield, cell number and early pregnancy rate), there are significant differences in embryo cryosurvival. This suggests that current in vitro culture systems need to be improved to optimize embryo quality and pregnancy rates.

Animals↗

Laparoscopic oviductal transfer of in vitro matured and in vitro fertilized bovine oocytes.

The objective of this study was to obtain normal pregnancy following laparoscopic oviductal transfer of in vitro matured and fertilized bovine oocytes. Methods for in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization were similar to those previously reported (1). Primary oocytes judged to be potentially viable were cultured for 26 h in modified TCM 199 supplemented with heat-treated fetal calf serum (20% v/v), 5mug/ml FSH (USDA-bFSH-B-1), and 1mug/ml estradiol 17-beta. Oocyte cumulus complexes were microscopically evaluated for maturation (first polar body formation) following a brief treatment with hyaluronidase. Mature oocytes were inseminated with heparin-treated spermatozoa and incubated at 39 degrees C under paraffin oil and moist 5% CO(2), 5% O(2), 90% N(2). In this work, 450 oocytes were recovered at slaughter from ovaries of 42 random cows of unknown reproductive status and 336 oocytes (74.7%) with compact cumulus were selected for culture. Of these, 322 (95.4%) matured in vitro. Of 218 inseminated oocytes, 198 (90.8%) were penetrated by sperm and 83 (38.1%) cleaved, with 102 (46.6%) of the embryos reaching four- to eight-cell stages. None of 40 oocytes not exposed to sperm and none of 30 oocytes inseminated with untreated sperm showed signs of activation. In a control experiment with hormones added, 105 of 115 (91.3%) oocytes matured in vitro and 20 of 105 (19.5%) cleaved following in vitro insemination. Laparoscopy was performed on four synchronized recipients under local anesthesia. A catheter containing three embryos in the two to four cell stages was passed through the operating channel of a direct viewing bronchoscope for deposition in the oviduct ipsilateral to the recipients developing corpus luteum while the fimbria and the mesovarium were manipulated with Semm's forceps. A normal term pregnancy confirmed in vitro fertilization and provides feasibility data for use of laparoscopic methodology developed in this work for testing viability of bovine oocytes and embryos. These results are encouraging for the application of in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization for overcoming infertility in domestic and endangered species.

Journal Article↗

Genetic toxicity assessment: employing the best science for human safety evaluation. Part II: Performances of the in vitro micronucleus test compared to the mouse lymphoma assay and the in vitro chromosome aberration assay.

The in vitro micronucleus test is commonly used in the early stages of pharmaceutical development as a predictive tool for the regulatory mouse lymphoma assay or in vitro chromosome aberration test. The accumulated data from this assay leads to the suggestion that it could be used as an alternative to the chromosome aberration test or the mouse lymphoma assay in the regulatory genotoxicity battery. In this paper, we present the results of the in vitro micronucleus test on L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells with 25 compounds from Servier research and have compared these results to those obtained in the genotoxicity regulatory battery. All the negative compounds were also negative in the in vitro micronucleus assay. Among the 14 positive compounds, two of them, positive in the mouse lymphoma assay, were found negative in the in vitro micronucleus test. However, this apparent discordance was likely to be due to cytotoxicity- or high concentration-related false positive responses in the mouse lymphoma assay. In addition, we confirmed that the in vitro micronucleus assay is useful for detecting aneugens, especially, when cells in metaphasis and multinucleated cells are also scored and when cells are allowed to recover after the long treatment. On this series of compounds, the in vitro micronucleus assay showed high sensitivity and possibly a better specificity than the mouse lymphoma assay. Thus, the in vitro micronucleus assay was shown to be at least as adequate as the mouse lymphoma assay or the in vitro chromosome aberration test to be used in the standard genotoxicity battery.

Animals↗

Differences in amino acid content of preimplantation mouse embryos that develop in vitro versus in vivo: in vitro effects of five amino acids that are abundant in oviductal secretions.

Although it is now well established that amino acids can improve preimplantation development of mouse embryos in vitro, the mechanisms by which they influence development have not been determined. To investigate these mechanisms, we compared the contents of seven abundant amino acids (alanine, aspartate, glutamate, glycine, serine, and taurine) in 4-8-cell embryos and blastocysts developing in vivo with the contents in those developing from the 2-cell stage in vitro. We also studied the effects of five amino acids (alanine, glutamate, glutamine, glycine, and taurine) that are abundant in the oviductal lumen on the amino acid content of embryos developing in vitro. Blastocysts that developed in vitro contained about six times more alanine and about one-sixth as much taurine as blastocysts that developed in vivo, but the same amounts of glycine and serine. In the presence of glycine and four other abundant amino acids in oviductal secretions, however, blastocysts that developed in vitro had higher levels of both glycine and serine than those that developed in vivo. In contrast, glycine either alone or in combination with the other amino acids reduced the alanine content of blastocysts developed in vitro to nearer that of blastocysts developing in vivo. Similarly, taurine in the medium allowed blastocysts developed in vitro to increase their content of this amino acid to normal levels. The levels of taurine and, somewhat surprisingly, glutamine and glycine became abnormally low in embryos within 24 h of the onset of in vitro culture in medium that did not contain the amino acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acids↗

Effect of repetitive stimulation on the contractile response of rabbit urinary bladder subjected to in vitro hypoxia or in vitro ischemia followed by reoxygenation.

PURPOSE: We studied the effects of hypoxia followed by reoxygenation and an in vitro model of ischemia (hypoxia + substrate [glucose] deprivation) followed by reperfusion (reoxygenation + substrate replacement) on the contractile response of rabbit urinary bladder strips to nonrepetitive and repetitive field stimulation (FS), and correlated the results with the rate of lipid peroxidation. We view repetitive FS as a model for hyperreflexia. METHODS: The effects of repetitive and nonrepetitive FS on the contractile responses of isolated strips of rabbit bladder to FS, carbachol, and KCl were determined in the presence of 3 different incubation media: O2 + glucose (normal physiological medium); N2 + glucose (in vitro hypoxia), and N2 - glucose (in vitro ischemia). Then, all strips were incubated for 1 h in normal physiological medium ('reperfusion') followed by a final stimulation; the resultant contractile responses were correlated with the level of lipid peroxidation as determined by malonedialdehyde (MDA) concentration. RESULTS: Repetitive stimulation, a model of hyperreflexia, significantly increased the rate of development of contractile dysfunction in bladder tissue strips incubated in all 3 media as compared to nonrepetitive stimulation, which caused no degradation of the contractile response in normal physiological medium. The rate of development of contractile dysfunction was significantly greater in bladder tissue strips incubated in the in vitro ischemia medium (N2 - glucose) than in strips incubated in the hypoxia medium (N2 + glucose); which, in turn, was significantly greater than in those incubated in the normal physiological medium (O2 + glucose). Repetitive stimulation ('hyperreflexia') during all 3 incubation conditions resulted in increased [MDA] after reoxygenation or 'reperfusion'. Incubation in in vitro ischemia buffer (N2 - glucose) followed by 1 h reoxygenation + substrate replacement stimulated lipid peroxidation to a significantly greater extent than did incubation in hypoxia buffer (N2 + glucose) followed by 1 h of reoxygenation; the level of lipid peroxidation, [MDA], paralleled the magnitude of the contractile dysfunctions present. Independent of the incubation medium, the magnitude of FS-induced contractile dysfunction after reoxygenation or 'reperfusion' was significantly greater than the magnitude of dysfunction in response to carbachol or KCl. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that the rate of contractile failure induced by in vitro ischemia is greater than that induced by in vitro hypoxia, and that the contractile response to FS is significantly more sensitive to both hypoxia and in vitro ischemia than is the contractile response to either carbachol or KCl. Repetitive stimulation ('hyperreflexia') increases the rate of contractile failure under all conditions tested, and the magnitude of the contractile failure may be due, in part, to the generation of free radicals and subsequent stimulation of lipid peroxidation upon reoxygenation or 'reperfusion'.

Animals↗

Kinetics of early in vitro development of bovine in vivo- and in vitro-derived zygotes produced and/or cultured in chemically defined or serum-containing media.

The kinetics of the in vitro development of early embryos from bovine zygotes derived in vitro and in vitro were compared, investigating the effect of serum during in vitro maturation and fertilization (IVM-IVF) and in culture. Zygotes were collected from superovulated heifers or produced in vitro from immature oocytes with or without serum supplementation, and cultured subsequently in defined culture medium (SOFaaci) with or without serum supplementation. Time-lapse images were recorded every 0.5 h throughout the culture period. More in vivo- than in vitro-derived zygotes developed to the compact morula or blastocyst stages (87% versus 47-54%, respectively; P < 0.05). Embryo development was blocked predominantly at the second or fourth cell cycles (28 and 29%). However, blastomeres degenerated at all cleavage stages. Serum supplementation during IVM-IVF resulted in abnormally sized blastomeres at first cleavage (defined serum: 20-22% versus in vivo-derived: 8%, P < 0.05). The duration of the second, third and fifth cell cycles of in vivo-derived zygotes were 1-5 h shorter compared with those of in vitro-derived zygotes cultured under similar conditions (P < 0.05). However, the kinetics of embryo development was affected by serum during IVM-IVF and culture. The first and fourth cell cycles were prolonged by 4-5 h in the absence of serum during IVM-IVF, whereas the presence of serum during culture decreased the duration of the fourth cell cycle and triggered premature blastulation. The results of this study illustrate the differences and similarities between the morphology and developmental kinetics of in vivo- and in vitro-derived zygotes, and show how serum supplementation during IVM-IVF and culture can alter these parameters.

Animals↗

Specific antibody synthesis in vitro. III. Correlation of in vivo and in vitro antibody response to influenza immunization in young and old subjects.

Young and elderly volunteers received a trivalent influenza vaccine and blood samples were obtained prior to, 1 week and 3 weeks after immunization. Plasma antibody levels and the capacity for in vitro lymphocyte synthesis of specific anti-influenza antibody were assessed. Additionally, prior to immunization, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured in the presence of antigen, and the capacity for in vitro immunization was determined. Antibody response was therefore measured after in vivo and in vitro immunization. After in vivo immunization, plasma antibody level and in vitro synthesis capabilities were significantly greater in the young subjects, and these assays correlated significantly. The capacity for in vitro immunization was also greater in the young, but the difference did not reach statistical significance and there was no correlation with in vitro immunization potential and the response after in vivo vaccination. Assessment of in vitro antibody synthesis after vaccination however, may prove a useful tool for probing immune deficient states and testing the success, in vitro of various immune reconstitution measures.

Adult↗

Effectiveness of in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization techniques in pigs.

In vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization techniques in pigs have progressed considerably in recent years. Many reports focus on the factors affecting in vitro maturation that lead to normal male pronuclear formation or monospermy after fertilization in vitro. It is suggested that pig follicular fluid (pFF), follicle somatic cells and various hormones are important factors for the maintenance of cytoplasmic maturation of oocytes in vitro, but that fetal calf serum (FCS), which is generally added to maturation medium, is detrimental. A series of experiments clearly indicate that the glutathione (GSH) content of matured oocytes increases greatly when maturation medium is supplemented with cysteine, a precursor of GSH, and the rates of male pronuclear formation increase in parallel with the increasing GSH content. To prevent polyspermy, conditions of maturation and of fertilization in vitro are important. Culture of oocytes in medium with FCS for the first 24 h and with BSA for the second 24 h decreases the incidence of polyspermy, without a significant effect on nuclear maturation. However, it has been shown that secretory macromolecules of the oviduct may reduce the incidence of polyspermy by interacting with fertilizing spermatozoa rather than with oocytes. A reduction of polyspermy by treating spermatozoa with pFF is also reported. In addition to the many improvements in the methodology of in vitro fertilization using unfrozen spermatozoa in pigs, techniques for fertilizing oocytes in vitro with frozen epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa have also recently been developed.

Animals↗

In vitro--in vivo correlation of dissolution, a time scaling problem? Transformation of in vitro results to the in vivo situation, using theophylline as a practical example.

Two principal approaches to demonstrating the continuous in vivo relevance of an in vitro dissolution test are outlined. The first uses the convolution technique to predict the concentration-time course in vivo; the second uses deconvolution as a mathematical tool to estimate the in vivo dissolution profile. The weighting function must be known to utilise either technique. Defined by the aim of the analysis the dose-normalized response to the oral solution is regarded as the weighting function (Impulse Response). In both cases the essential step is continuous comparison of the predicted time dependent data with actual readings of the same class. To permit the prediction of concentration-time data from in vitro dissolution data the basic equations for the transformation of the time base from in vitro to in vivo conditions are developed. The transformation is essential, since one cannot assume that the time scales for the in vitro and the in vivo experiment are definitely the same. The estimated in vivo dissolution profile using the deconvolution technique gives a hypothetical image of the true in vivo dissolution curve. Comparison with in vitro dissolution test results, using one of the equivalence testing procedures, reveals how closely and for how long the in vitro dissolution test simulates the in vivo dissolution process. For the formulation of theophylline studied, equivalence of the in vitro and the estimated in vivo dissolution profiles was not confirmed for the entire period of observation, but it was demonstrated for approximately the first 5 h. The later inequivalence is not due to possible non-linear or time-dependent kinetics of theophylline. There is a discussion of whether a change in pH, agitation of the formulation, diffusion conditions or the absorption rate constant along the gastrointestinal tract might explain the biphasic linear correlation of the in vitro and in vivo data observed.

Adult↗

Successful in vitro and in vivo development of in vitro fertilized two- to four-cell cat embryos following cryopreservation, culture and transfer.

In vitro and in vivo survival of in vitro-derived 2- to 4-cell cat embryos following cryopreservation was examined. Prefreeze 1- vs 2-step cryoprotectant exposure (Experiment 1) and warming method (Experiment 2) on zona pellucida damage and development in vitro were compared. To determine viability in vivo, frozen/thawed embryos were cultured in vitro to the morula/early blastocyst stage and transferred to synchronous recipients (Experiment 3). At 24 to 26 h after IVF, embryos were cryopreserved in 1.4 M propanediol (Pr)+0.125 M sucrose (Su) by cooling at 0.3 degrees C/min from -6 degrees C to -30 degrees C and storing in liquid nitrogen. Autologous embryos were cultured in vitro for 7 d. After warming for 5 sec in air and 10 sec at 37 degrees C in water (Experiments 1 to 3), or at room temperature air (22 degrees C; Experiment 2), the cryoprotectant was removed and embryos were cultured in vitro for 6 d (Experiments 1 and 2). Development was assessed after staining by counting cell numbers/embryo and determining the percentages at the 2- to 4-cell (nonsurvivor), pre (5 to 15), early (16 to 32), mid (33 to 50), late (>50) morula or blastocyst stages. Post-thaw development to late morula/blastocyst after 1-step exposure (68%, 15 min Pr+Su) was higher (P<0.05) than that after 2-step exposure (36%, 15 min Pr and 15 min Pr+Su). Both warming methods produced similar percentages of embryos with damaged zonae (13 to 15%) and equivalent development to morula/blastocyst (64 to 69%). Development in vitro to early morula/blastocyst of frozen embryos with intact zonae was similar to that of nonfrozen embryos. Following cryopreservation, most 2- to 4-cell cat embryos retained their capability for in vitro development to morula/blastocyst, and in vivo viability was demonstrated by the birth of 3 live kittens to 2 of 4 recipients following the transfer of 58 embryos.

Journal Article↗

In vitro-in vivo extrapolation: estimation of human serum concentrations of chemicals equivalent to cytotoxic concentrations in vitro.

In the present study an extrapolation model for estimating serum concentrations of chemicals equivalent to in vitro effective concentrations is developed and applied to median cytotoxic concentrations (EC(50)) determined in vitro. Nominal concentrations of a chemical in serum and in vitro are regarded as equivalent, if they result in the same aqueous concentration of the unbound form. The algorithm used is based on equilibrium distribution and requires albumin binding data, the octanol-water partition coefficient (K(ow)), and the albumin concentrations and lipid volume fractions in vitro and in serum. The chemicals studied cover wide ranges of cytotoxic potency (EC(50): 2.5-530,000 microM) and lipophilicity (logK(ow): -5 to 7). Their albumin binding characteristics have been determined by means of an in vitro cytotoxicity test as described previously. The equivalent serum concentrations of 19 of the 33 compounds investigated, having high protein binding and/or lipophilicity, were substantially higher than the EC(50)-values, by factors of 2.5-58. Prominent deviations between the equivalent nominal concentrations in serum and in vitro were largely restricted to chemicals with higher cytotoxic potency (EC(50)< or =1000 microM). The results suggest that estimates of equivalent serum concentrations based on in vitro data are robust for chemicals with low lipophilicity (logK(ow)< or =2) and low potency (EC(50)>1000 microM). With more potent chemicals or those with higher lipophilicity partitioning into lipids and/or binding to serum proteins have to be taken into account when estimating in vivo serum concentrations equivalent to in vitro effective concentrations.

3T3 Cells↗

The relationship between in vitro gas production, in vitro microbial biomass yield and 15N incorporation and its implications for the prediction of voluntary feed intake of roughages.

The relationship between in vitro gas production, concomitant in vitro apparent and true DM degradability has been examined in forty-two roughages. The partitioning of truly-degraded substrate between gas volume and microbial biomass yield and 15N incorporation into cells was also investigated. The relevance of this partitioning for the regulation of DM intake (DMI) was examined for fifty-four roughages. The results can be summarized as follows. In vitro gas production and in vitro apparent and true degradability are highly correlated (P < 0.0001), r being 0.96 and 0.95 respectively. There is an inverse relationship between in vitro gas production and microbial biomass yield (r--0.67, (P < 0.0001) and also 15N enrichment (P < 0.001) when the variables were related to a given unit of substrate truly degraded. Selecting roughages by in vitro gas production may well be a selection against maximum microbial yield and a combination of in vitro gas volume measurements with a complementary determination of the substrate truly degraded is proposed, to calculate a partitioning factor (PF) reflecting the variation of short-chain fatty acid production per unit substrate degraded. PF is calculated as the ratio, substrate truly degraded: gas produced by it. PF was highly significant (P < 0.0001) in DMI prediction when included in stepwise multiple correlations together with in vitro gas volume variables reflecting the extent and rate of gas production; 11% of the variation in DMI was accounted for by the PF. The total model, including extent and rate of gas production and the PF, accounted for 84% of the variation in DMI. Roughages producing proportionally less gas per unit substrate truly degraded had higher feed intakes.

Animal Feed↗

Correlation between in vitro and in vivo activities of GM 237354, a new sordarin derivative, against Candida albicans in an in vitro pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model and influence of protein binding.

The antifungal effect of GM 237354, a sordarin derivative, was studied in an in vitro pharmacokinetic (PK)-pharmacodynamic dynamic system (bioreactor) which reproduces PK profiles observed in a previously described model of drug efficacy against murine systemic candidiasis. Immunocompetent mice infected intravenously with 10(5) CFU of Candida albicans were treated with GM 237354 at 2.5, 10, and 40 mg/kg of body weight every 8 h subcutaneously for 7 days. Free concentrations in serum were calculated by multiplying total concentrations measured in vivo by 0.05, the free fraction determined in vitro by equilibrium dialysis. In the bioreactor the inoculum was approximately 10(6) CFU/ml; and a one-compartment PK model was used to reproduce the PK profiles of free and total GM 237354 in serum obtained in mice, and clearance of C. albicans was measured over 48 h. A good correlation was observed when the in vivo fungal kidney burden and the area under the survival time curve were compared with the in vitro broth "burden," although only when free in vivo levels in serum were reproduced in vitro. GM 237354 displayed a 3-log decrease effect both in vivo and in vitro. The very few reports available on in vitro-in vivo correlations have been obtained with antibiotics. The good in vitro-in vivo correlation obtained with an antifungal agent shows that the in vitro dynamic system could constitute a powerful investigational tool prior to assessment of the efficacy of an anti-infective agent in animals and humans.

Animals↗

Development of in vitro derived bovine embryos following pronuclear transplantation and in vitro culture.

This study was designed to evaluate the survival and development of in vitro derived bovine embryos following pronuclear transplantation and in vitro embryo culture. Bovine zygotes were produced by in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization. Pronuclei were removed by micromanipulation and either transferred back to the same cell (Group 1) or into a previously enucleated zygote (Group 2) by electrofusion. Micromanipulated and non-micromanipulated (Group 3, control) zygotes were co-cultured with oviductal cells in a sealed modular chamber filled with 5% CO2, 5% O2 and 90% N2 at 39 degrees C for 7-8 days. Fusion rates were similar for Groups 1 and 2 (90.7 and 85.1%, respectively, P > 0.05). The percentage of embryos that cleaved was not different for Groups 1 (82.0%), 2 (90.0%) and 3 (76.9%, P > 0.05). Also, the percentage of embryos developing to the compact morula or blastocyst stage was similar (25.6, 22.5 and 22.3%, respectively, for Groups 1, 2 and 3, P > 0.05). The results of this experiment are the first to demonstrate that pronuclear transfer can be carried out successfully using bovine embryos derived from in vitro oocyte maturation and in vitro fertilization. In addition, pronuclei can be transferred from one bovine embryo to another and the reconstructed embryos develop to the compact morula and blastocyst stage in vitro. This technique, used in combination with oocyte retrieval by ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration and embryo transfer, offers the potential to study cytoplasmic inheritance in cattle directly, and to evaluate the effect of cytoplasmic inheritance on traits of economic importance.

Animals↗