Impact of FLI on porcine preimplantation embryo development in vitro
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[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/01/2026] In vitro production of porcine embryos is a vital component of biomedical and agricultural advancements, with swine serving as essential models for human diseases and playing a key role in genetic improvement efforts for livestock production. Despite progress, current in vitro maturation (IVM) systems still yield suboptimal developmental outcomes, as evidenced by low blastocyst formation and reduced embryo viability. Recent investigations have highlighted the potential of a supplement of three cytokines found in follicular fluid, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), together referred to as “FLI”, to enhance oocyte maturation and subsequent embryonic development (Yuan et al., 2017). Many studies have shown that FLI activates critical proliferation signaling pathways such as MAPK1/3 and AKT when added during maturation (Procházka et al., 2021; Yuan et al., 2017). Currently, even with advancements in transcriptional profiling and the addition of new components to improve blastocyst development, such as arginine and glutamine, the in vitro culture (IVC) environment is still in need of additional optimization (Chen et al., 2018; Redel et al., 2015). This study investigates the effects of supplementing culture medium with FLI during porcine preimplantation embryo development. The primary objective is to determine if FLI supplementation during culture enhances blastocyst formation and improves overall embryo competency. Sow oocytes were obtained and used for in vitro fertilization and were subsequently cultured with FLI on days 0, 2, 3, or 4. On day 6, blastocyst formation and total cell number was assessed to identify the optimal day for FLI supplementation to have the most profound effect on embryo development. The developmental competence of FLI-treated blastocysts was evaluated by analyzing the total cell number, assessment of inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) number, and timing of blastocyst development and hatching on days 5, 6, and 7. This research aims to identify methods to refine in vitro production (IVP) protocols, possibly reducing the number of embryos required for transfer and improving the efficiency of porcine embryo production.
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M.S.