Impaired final follicular maturation in heifers after superovulation with recombinant human FSH

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether human FSH without contaminating LH can exert a normal superovulation response in cows. One group of heifers (n = 9) was stimulated with recombinant human FSH (rhFSH), an FSH source without any LH activity, and another group (n = 9) was treated with equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG), an FSH source with high LH activity. Daily transrectal ultrasonography showed that eCG- and rhFSH-stimulated heifers (n = 9 per group) had the same follicular growth characteristics and equal numbers of follicles > 8 mm in diameter after 3 days of stimulation. The treatment groups differed considerably in steroid production: rhFSH-treated heifers produced much lower oestradiol concentrations than did eCG-stimulated heifers during the first days of stimulation and much lower progesterone concentrations in the period after the LH surge. During the 27-35 h after prostaglandin injection, rhFSH-treated heifers had fewer LH pulses than did eCG-treated heifers (0.3 versus 3.0 per heifer, respectively; n = 3 per group). All rhFSH-treated heifers (n = 6) underwent a preovulatory LH surge, but this occurred significantly later than in the eCG-treated heifers (n = 4; 39.4 +/- 1.9 h versus 47.1 +/- 1.5 h in rhFSH- and eCG-treated heifers, respectively). Multiple ovulations occurred in only three of six rhFSH-treated heifers, but in all four eCG-treated heifers with an LH surge. At 24 h after the LH surge, the percentage of metaphase II stage oocytes with cortical granules distributed close to the oolemma was significantly lower in the rhFSH group (7.3%) than in the eCG group (55.9%). In conclusion, final follicular maturation is impaired in heifers treated with rhFSH, which might be due to the combination of a lack of LH activity in the gonadotrophin preparation and the severe suppression of LH pulsatility.

Refined Porcine Follicle Stimulating Hormone Promotes the Responsiveness of Rabbits to Multiple-Ovulation Treatment

“…In cattle, donors treated with FSH without contaminating LH lacked LH secretions during final follicle maturation, and final follicle maturation was impaired in these donors [16]. The increment of remaining follicles that were observed in this study might be caused by immaturity of follicles due to reduced contamination of LH as suggested by cattle [16]. The results obtained from this study indicate that refined FSH with only a little contaminating LH can promote the responsiveness of rabbits to multiple ovulation treatment.…”

“…Thus, refined FSH with only a little contaminating LH may promote the responsiveness of rabbits to multiple ovulation treatment. In cattle, donors treated with FSH without contaminating LH lacked LH secretions during final follicle maturation, and final follicle maturation was impaired in these donors [16]. The increment of remaining follicles that were observed in this study might be caused by immaturity of follicles due to reduced contamination of LH as suggested by cattle [16].…”

Fertility Cryopreservation

“…Thus, an in vitro maturation (IVM) procedure should be in hand to handle immature oocytes, and this process is currently developed for only a handful of species and even for these success is often fairly limited (Krisher, 2004). Furthermore, collection of immature oocytes following chemical stimulation disrupts the natural maturation process and thus compromises the quality of oocytes even if they were later matured in vitro (Moor et al, 1998;Takagi et al, 2001). During oocyte maturation and follicular growth, oocytes accumulate large quantities of mRNA and proteins needed for continuation of meiosis, fertilization, and embryonic development (Krisher, 2004).…”

Efecto De La Aplicación De Gonadotropinas Recombinantes Humanas Sobre La Producción Y Calidad De Ovocitos Y Embriones en Coneja

“…La rhFSH ha sido utilizada con resultados variables en ratón , vaca (Takagi et al, 2001) o monos (Yang et al, 2008).…”

“…Recombinant bovine FSH has been reported to induce superovulation at a rate comparable with that of pituitary FSH products, possibly with improved average embryo quality, despite the absence of exogenous LH (Wilson et al, 1993). By contrast, it was observed that with recombinant human FSH (rhFSH), when there were multiple ovulations, the final follicular maturation was impaired compared with that of eCG equine Chorionic Gonadotropin treatment (Takagi et al, 2001). Recombinant human FSH has also been shown to induce multiple ovulation in primates (Cseh et al, 2002;Marshall et al, 2003;Yang et al, 2007) and in rodents (Vaan Cappellen et al, 1997;, and it is routinely used in human assisted-reproductive technologies (Levi-Setti e al., 2006).…”