Effect of Post-IVF Developmental Kinetics on In Vitro Survival of Vitrified-warmed Domestic Cat Blastocysts |
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| Authors: | T Tsujioka C Otzdorff J Braun S Hochi |
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| Institution: | Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan;;Veterinary College, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Muenchen, Germany;;Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan |
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| Abstract: | A limited number of reports is available on cryopreservation of in vitro fertilization (IVF)‐derived cat blastocysts. In the present study, IVF‐derived domestic cat embryos which reached the blastocyst stage either on day 6 or day 7 were cryopreserved by vitrification using Cryotop as a cryodevice. Fresh control and post‐warm surviving blastocysts were examined by differential cell staining with Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide to determine total cell number and inner cell mass (ICM) ratio, and the post‐warm survival rate was determined by re‐expansion of the blastocoel during 24 h of in vitro culture. In fresh control, the mean number of total cells of day 7 blastocysts (61.4 cells) tended to be smaller than that of day 6 blastocysts (81.9 cells, p = 0.096). The post‐warm survival rates of day 6 and day 7 blastocysts were not statistically different (73.8%; 31 of 42 vs 66.7%; 18 of 27). There were no significant differences in the total cell number and ICM ratio between fresh control and vitrified blastocysts, although the ICM ratio of surviving day 7 blastocysts was significantly smaller than that of fresh controls (stained at day 8, 18.9% vs 28.9%, p < 0.05). These results indicate that IVF‐derived domestic cat embryos that reached the blastocyst stage earlier can survive the Cryotop vitrification without a reduction in the parameters studied. |
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