The role of cholesterol in cryobiology, apoptosis and lipids content of in vitro produced (IVP) bovine embryos

• Grant number: 18/01965-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: March 21, 2018
• End date: March 20, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Marcella Pecora Milazzotto
• Grantee: Kelly Annes
• Supervisor: Bianca Gasparrini
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Napoli Frederico II (UNINA), Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/05986-0 - Role of cholesterol in criotolerance and viability of in vitro produced bovine embryos with different development kinetics., BP.DR

Abstract

Embryos with high amounts of lipids have their development impaired, with increased embryo death and lower survival after cryopreservation. Additionally, the lipid content is associated with lower pregnancy rates and low success cryopreservation of IVP embryos when compared to embryos produced in vivo. A component which is present in both lipid droplets as the membranes is cholesterol, which has been suggested by recent studies as a major lipid to be investigated more closely, having demonstrated differences in the amounts of related genes transcribed this pathway in embryos cultured in the presence and absence of serum, as well as embryos with different kinetics as compared to those produced in vivo. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the role of cholesterol in embryos of different development kinetics, as well as their influence on the cryopreservation, apoptosis and lipid content. For this, bovine embryos are produced in vitro in culture medium supplemented with inhibitory (simvastatin) and stimulatory (IGF-1) drugs of the cholesterol biosynthesis. The embryos are classified as development kinetics of the 40hpi collected at blastocyst stage and evaluated: the amount of lipid droplets (Nile Red), the induction of apoptosis (caspase / TUNEL) and cryopreservation.