O. Suzuki et al., DEVELOPMENT OF PREIMPLANTATION GUINEA-PIG EMBRYOS IN SERUM-FREE MEDIA, Reproduction, fertility and development, 5(4), 1993, pp. 425-432
This study was undertaken to determine how far preimplantation guinea-
pig embryos can develop normally in vitro with serum-free media genera
lly used for mouse (Whitten's medium, WM) and rabbit (Kane's medium, K
M) embryos. Preimplantation guinea-pig embryos were recovered from nat
urally mated females at each day of pregnancy between Day 1 and Day 6,
and were cultured in vitro with either WM or KM at 37 degrees C in 5%
CO2 in air. One-cell (Day 1) and 2-cell (early Day 2) embryos culture
d in WM developed to the 4-cell and morulae stages respectively, where
as the corresponding embryos cultured in KM arrested development at th
e 2-cell and 8-cell stages respectively. In contrast, 4-cell (late Day
2 and Day 3) embryos proceeded to the blastocyst stage in KM, but not
in WM. Eight-cell embryos (Day 4) and morulae (Day 5) developed to bl
astocysts in either medium. However, hatching of the blastocysts and t
rophoblast outgrowth on the culture dish were supported only by KM eve
n when collected at the blastocyst stage. The present study suggests t
hat, in guinea-pig embryos, a distinct change in nutritional requireme
nts occurs around the time of the second cell division and that, unlik
e in the mouse, trophoblast outgrowth in the guinea-pig requires no su
pplementation of serum or extracellular matrices.