Cloned transgenic offspring resulting from somatic cell nuclear transfer in the goat: Oocytes derived from both follicle-stimulating hormone-stimulated and nonstimulated abattoir-derived ovaries
Bc. Reggio et al., Cloned transgenic offspring resulting from somatic cell nuclear transfer in the goat: Oocytes derived from both follicle-stimulating hormone-stimulated and nonstimulated abattoir-derived ovaries, BIOL REPROD, 65(5), 2001, pp. 1528-1533
The use of nuclear transfer (NT) techniques to create transgenic offspring
capable of producing valuable proteins may have a major impact on the pharm
aceutical market. Our objective was to compare the in vivo developmental po
tential of NT embryos produced from the fusion of transgenic donor cells wi
th cytoplasts prepared from either FSH-stimulated ovaries or nonstimulated
abattoir-derived ovaries. Donor cells were prepared from a transgenic fetus
carrying the gene for human antithrombin III as a marker and used within f
our to eight subpassages. Cells were serum deprived for 4 days prior to cyt
oplast transfer. Oocytes were enucleated by removing the metaphase plate us
ing a DNA stain and epifluorescent illumination. Donor cells were fused to
enucleated oocytes by electric pulse and then chemically activated. There w
as no difference in the number of transferable embryos produced from cytopl
asts of FSH-stimulated ovaries or from the fusion of cytoplasts from abatto
ir ovaries, nor was there a difference in the number of pregnancies establi
shed per recipient with either treatment. All pregnancies from both groups
culminated in the births of healthy female kids (five total). To our knowle
dge, this is the first report of cloned goats produced from NT using cytopl
asts derived from abattoir ovaries.