Proven procedures for fertilizing rhesus monkey oocytes in vitro and sustaining development through early cleavage stages will be used to examine fundamental aspects of primate fertilization and embryogenesis. The investigation will include: (1) physiological and pharmacological studies on acquisition of fertilizing ability by rhesus spermatozoa, in which the functional correlations between hyperactivated sperm motility, acrosome reactions and penetration of the zona pellucida will be examined; this work will extend previous studies on the stimulation of sperm fertilizing ability by cyclic nucleotide mediators and will also examine the possible role of cumulus oophorus. (2) Studies on the fertilizability of oocytes recovered from normal animals and animals stimulated by gonadotropins or clomiphene, in order to optimize yields of viable oocytes and to examine the steroid profiles of follicles that produce oocytes capable of undergoing fertilization and normal embryonic development; this project will provide information on folliculogenesis and will also facilitate other parts of the program. (3) Attempts to extend development of in vitro fertilized oocytes through all stage of preimplantation embryogenesis and to obtain early post-implantation embryonic growth in vitro in order to provide a primate model for more detailed analyses of these critical phases of development. (4) Transfer of in vitro fertilized rhesus embryos to recipients to obtain offspring and monitoring their post-natal development in order to ascertain if any defects are associated with in vitro fertilization procedures in primates. A project will also be undertaken to ascertain if primate embryos are able to withstand freeze-preservation; if successful, this project would facilitate experimental embryological studies by (e.g.) permitting embryos to be pooled in sufficient numbers to reduce experimental variability, allowing embryos to be transferred to oocyte-donor recipients (autotransfers) following re-establishment of normal menstrual cycles and provide a means for transporting rhesus embryos to other laboratories for breeding purposes or for experimental studies. Taken together, the proposed research will considerably extend knowledge, which is presently very sparse, about primate oocyte development, fertilization and embryogenesis, and may provide new insights into the etiology of embryonic losses and developmental defects in primates.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01HD014765-06S1
Application #
3312773
Study Section
Reproductive Biology Study Section (REB)
Project Start
1981-01-01
Project End
1987-04-30
Budget Start
1987-01-01
Budget End
1987-04-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Wisconsin Madison
Department
Type
DUNS #
161202122
City
Madison
State
WI
Country
United States
Zip Code
53715
Bavister, B D; Boatman, D E (1992) 'Test-tube' primates: the next generation. Hum Reprod 7:1035
Morgan, P M; Warikoo, P K; Bavister, B D (1991) In vitro maturation of ovarian oocytes from unstimulated rhesus monkeys: assessment of cytoplasmic maturity by embryonic development after in vitro fertilization. Biol Reprod 45:89-93
Morgan, P M; Boatman, D E; Bavister, B D (1990) Relationships between follicular fluid steroid hormone concentrations, oocyte maturity, in vitro fertilization and embryonic development in the rhesus monkey. Mol Reprod Dev 27:145-51
Enders, A C; Boatman, D; Morgan, P et al. (1989) Differentiation of blastocysts derived from in vitro-fertilized rhesus monkey ova. Biol Reprod 41:715-27
Bavister, B D (1989) A consistently successful procedure for in vitro fertilization of golden hamster eggs. Gamete Res 23:139-58
Bavister, B D (1988) A minichamber device for maintaining a constant carbon dioxide in air atmosphere during prolonged culture of cells on the stage of an inverted microscope. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol 24:759-63
Bavister, B D; Andrews, J C (1988) A rapid sperm motility bioassay procedure for quality-control testing of water and culture media. J In Vitro Fert Embryo Transf 5:67-75
Stewart-Savage, J; Bavister, B D (1988) Deterioration of stored culture media as monitored by a sperm motility bioassay. J In Vitro Fert Embryo Transf 5:76-80
Morgan, P M; Hutz, R J; Kraus, E M et al. (1987) Ultrasonographic assessment of the endometrium in rhesus monkeys during the normal menstrual cycle. Biol Reprod 36:463-9
Bavister, B D; Dees, C; Schultz, R D (1986) Refractoriness of rhesus monkeys to repeated ovarian stimulation by exogenous gonadotropins is caused by nonprecipitating antibodies. Am J Reprod Immunol Microbiol 11:11-6