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Vertebrate reproductive science and technology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection in the bovine induces abnormal [Ca2+]i responses and oocyte activation

Christopher Malcuit A , Marc Maserati B , Yoshiyuki Takahashi C , Raymond Page B and Rafael A. Fissore A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.

B Cyagra Inc., Research and Development, 200 Westboro Rd, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.

C Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan.

D Corresponding author. Email: rfissore@vasci.umass.edu

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 18(2) 39-51 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD05131
Submitted: 3 October 2005  Accepted: 3 October 2005   Published: 14 December 2005

Abstract

Fertilisation by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a technique that bypasses the membrane fusion of the gametes, has been widely used to produce offspring in humans and mice. Success with this technique has lent support to the hypothesis that in mammalian fertilisation, a factor from the sperm, the so-called sperm factor, is responsible for oocyte activation and that the fusion process is not involved in the generation of the hallmark [Ca2+]i signalling seen following fertilisation. However, the success of ICSI has largely eluded large domestic species, such as the bovine, porcine and equine, casting doubt on the current model of oocyte activation at fertilisation in these species. Using Ca2+ imagery and a series of treatments to manipulate the chemical structure of the sperm, we have investigated the early events of oocyte activation in response to ICSI in the bovine. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, that following ICSI, the majority of bovine oocytes are unable to mount [Ca2+]i oscillations, although, in few cases, the initiation of [Ca2+]i oscillations can occur in a manner indistinguishable from in vitro fertilisation. We also show that bull sperm possess a full complement of sperm factor. However, either the release and/or activation of the sperm factor are compromised after ICSI, leading to the delivery of a defective Ca2+ stimulus, which results in premature termination of embryo development.


Acknowledgments

This project was supported, in part, by grants from the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA; 2002-2078), the USDA/Hatch programme and from the National Institutes of Health RO3 to RAF.


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