ABSTRACT
During the last ten years the Neospora caninum infection have emerged as an important reproductive disease in cattle, and in several countries has been the main cause of abortion. Considering the importance of the disease our aim was to perform a morphological analysis ofin vitrofertilized bovine embryos experimentally exposed to Neospora caninum. The embryos were produced from oocytes harvested from ovaries collected in slaughterhouse. They were divided in 2 groups: control, kept with HTF medium, and infected with 10µL of N. caninum. The embryos were kept in CO2 incubator during 48 and 96h. The observations were performed under inverted optical microscope. There were no morphological changes in the control group. The infected group presented cytoplasm with dark granulation, cleavage blockage and pelucide zone (ZP) rupture. In some cases, taquizoite like structures were visualized under the ZP. Those results showed that there is an interaction between the embryo and the pathogen,probably by means of an initial process of binding with the ZP, which eventually allows its entrance under the ZP. The current study becomes relevant when we take into account the possibility of Neospora caninum transmission via animal reproduction techniques.
KEY WORDS
Neospora caninum
; IVF; embryos
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