1. The changes in the net amounts of retinol, retinyl esters and retinal in both the developing chick embryo and the newly hatched chick were investigated. The embryo requires about 68nmol of the vitamin for its growth, whereas the baby chick requires about 108nmol during the first 7 days after hatching. 2. Retinal was present in the egg in fairly high concentrations at the beginning of the inc...

Leptin acts as a modulator of diverse reproductive functions, and recent studies have implicated involvement of leptin in the early embryo development in mammal. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of leptin and its receptor (OB-R) in mouse oocyte and preimplantation embryo, and to examine whether leptin influenced the early embryo development. Leptin mRNA was detected in bl...

To evaluate the potential effects of melatonin on the kinetics of embryo development and quality of blastocyst during the process of in vitro bovine embryo culture. Bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were fertilized after in vitro maturation. The presumed zygotes were cultured in in vitro culture medium supplemented with or without 10(-7) M melatonin. The cleavage rate, 8-cell rate and blas...

Background: Embryo vitrification was effectively used for assisted reproductive techniques. Despite the undeniable benefits of vitrification, cooling and warming stress, and cytotoxicity of cryoprotectant may affect the DNA methylation that have an important role in gene activation and silencing. In the present study effects of 2-cell embryo vitrification on DNA methylation in hatched blastocys...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of prenatal administration of valproic acid on the survivability and day of hatching of chick embryo in comparison with age-matched controls. METHODS The experimental study was conducted at the Department of Anatomy, Regional Centre of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, Islamabad, from February 2010 to February 2011. Fertilised chicken eggs were divid...

L-carnitine (LC) is an antioxidant with the ability to promote the growth in vitro embryo. OBJECTIVE The goal was to evaluate the effect of LC on some indicators of embryo development and blastocyst quality including zona pellucid (ZP) thickness, the hatching of blastocysts and their cell numbers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mouse embryos were randomly divided into five groups and incubated with ...

abstractl-carnitine (lc) is an antioxidant with the ability to promote the growth in vitro embryo.objective: the goal was to evaluate the effect of lc on some indicators of embryo development and blastocyst quality including zona pellucid (zp) thickness, the hatching of blastocysts and their cell numbers.materials and methods: mouse embryos were randomly divided into five groups and incubated w...

Successful embryo implantation is a process which requires both a synchronous development and interaction between hatched blastocyst and endometrium. The process of implantation as a scheme is presented in Pic. 1, where the diagram shows a preimplantation stage of embryo and some important factors thought to be necessary for uterine receptivity: COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2), EGF (epidermal growth f...

We demonstrate the first programmed transport of live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and a zebrafish embryo (Danio rerio) within droplets in a two-plate digital microfluidic device. The yeast remained viable after transport, and the actuated droplets left no yeast behind. A zebrafish embryo transported 2 hours after fertilization developed normally and hatched. Dechorionation was demonstrated...