The relationship between bovine blastocyst formation in vitro and follicular fluid amino acids

Follicular fluid has been found as a possible source of metabolic predictors for oocyte competence, and it is conveniently accessible during ovum pick-up (OPU). We used the OPU procedure to recover oocytes from 41 Holstein heifers for in vitro embryo production in this study. Follicular fluid was collected during OPU in order to establish a link between follicular amino acids and blastocyst formation. Each heifer's oocytes were collected, matured in vitro for 24 h and fertilized separately. The heifers were then divided into two groups based on blastocyst formation: those that produced at least one blastocyst (the blastocyst group, n = 29) and those that did not (the failed group, n = 12). The blastocyst group had higher follicular glutamine concentrations and lower aspartate levels than the failed group. Furthermore, network and Spearman correlation analyses revealed a link between blastocyst formation and aspartate (r = -0.37, p = 0.02) or glutamine (r = 0.38, p = 0.02). The receiver operator characteristic curve revealed that glutamine (AUC = 0.75) was the greatest predictor of blastocyst formation. These findings revealed that follicular amino acid levels in bovines can be used to predict blastocyst development.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study used the ovum pick-up (OPU) procedure to recover oocytes from Holstein heifers and collected follicular fluid to establish a link between follicular amino acids and blastocyst formation. The results showed that heifers that produced blastocysts had higher follicular glutamine concentrations and lower aspartate levels. Furthermore, there was a correlation between blastocyst formation and aspartate or glutamine. Glutamine was found to be the greatest predictor of blastocyst formation.