The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of culture system and different somatic cells and bovine serum in co-culture on in vitro production of bovine embryos. On the first experiment oviduct epithelial cells for co-culture system in CR1aa (Charles Rosenkrans) medium for "defined" system were studied. On the second experiment granulosa or oviduct epithelial cells, both in CR1aa medium were used. On the third experiment estrous cow serum (ECS) or fetal calf serum (FCS), both in granulosa cells co-culture in CR1aa medium was used. Bovine cumulus-oocytes complexes, obtained from ovaries collected at slaughterhouse, were matured in vitro in medium 199 added with ECS and FSH for 24h. Right after, the oocytes were fertilized in vitro for 22h and randomly divided in the treatments of the experiments. The cleavage rate was evaluated on day three, the blastocyst production on seventh and eighth days and the hatched blastocysts on ninth and tenth days. No differences were obtained (P>0.05) between co-culture and "defined" systems on the cleavage rate (80.7% and 75.4%) and on the blastocysts production (19.4% and 17.7%). However, the hatched blastocyst rate was higher (P<0.05) in the co-culture than in the "defined" system (37.5 and 8,7%, respectively). Similar results of embryo co-culture in oviduct epithelial and granulosa cell cultures were obtained regarding to similar cleavages, blastocyst and hatched blastocyst rates (65.5% and 66.7% of cleavage, 11.6% and 13.7% of blastocyst and 23.1% and 50.0% of hatched blastocyst; P>0.05), as well as with FCS and ECS (63.9% and 70.2% of cleavage, 14.3% and 8.7% of blastocyst and 41.2% and 33.3% of hatched blastocyst; P>0,05). The results show that the "defined" system can be used for in vitro embryo culture studies. Nevertheless, the hatched blastocyst rate was higher in co-culture system. Granulosa and oviduct epithelial cells had similar effects on the in vitro embryonic development. Similar results were also obtained using estrous cow serum and fetal calf serum, when in granulosa cells co-culture.
Cattle; fetal calf serum; estrous cow serum; somatic cell; in vitro embryo culture
