Effect of estrus-associated glycoprotein and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 secreted by oviduct cells on in vitro bovine embryo development.

The effect of two glycoproteins (estrus-associated glycoprotein [EGP] and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase [TIMP-1]) secreted by bovine oviduct cells on in vitro bovine embryo development was assessed. A first set of experiments was conducted to determine whether the embryotrophic activity of the bovine oviduct-conditioned medium (BOCM) was correlated with the presence of EGP or TIMP-1. EGP and TIMP-1 were detected in BOCM, supporting the development of 22% zygotes to the blastocyst stage, as well as in BOCM yielding a low blastocyst rate (3-4% blastocysts). These glycoproteins do not seem to be necessary for bovine embryo development up to the blastocyst stage in our BOCM. In a second experiment, zygotes were cultured in modified synthetic oviduct fluid (mSOF) supplemented with different concentrations (0.5, 5, 50, and 500 micrograms/ml) of purified bovine EGP. In the third experiment, since purified bovine TIMP-1 was not available, zygotes were cultured in BOCM depleted of TIMP-1 by immunoprecipitation treatment. Adding EGP to mSOF, or removing TIMP-1 from BOCM, did not affect bovine embryo development up to the blastocyst stage, or mean number of cells per blastocyst after 8 days of culture. The results indicate that, under our culture conditions, EGP and TIMP-1 do not play an important role in sustaining bovine embryo development, and do not influence blastocyst quality, assessed in terms of total number of cells per embryo.