the effect of vero cells co-culture on in vitro maturation of bovine immature oocytes and further embryo development

objective: this study was carried out to examine the effect of vero cells co-culture on developmental competence of immature oocytes. materials and methods: bovine cumulus-oocyte-complexes (cocs) were matured in either presence or absence of vero cells. matured oocytes were inseminated and cultured for up to nine days. cleavage percentages were recorded on day two post insemination (pi). embryos were evaluated on daily basis till 9pi. expanding/expanded and hatching/hatched blastocysts were used for cell number assay. results: the results indicated a significantl increase in the cleavage number in oocytes matured in the presence of vero cells than that of the control (86% vs. 76%). the percentages of advanced embryos appear to be greater on a daily basis in cocs matured in the presence of vero cells compared to those of the control. however, these differences were not significant. blastocysts derived from cocs matured in the presence of vero cells had a significantly higher number of inner cell mass, trophectoderm and total cell number in expanding/expand and hatching/hatched embryos in comparison to those of the control. conclusion: results confirm that co-culture of bovine cocs, during in vitro maturation, enhances the potential for cleavage and for producing blastocysts with higher quality.