Project description:Since the first human conceived through in vitro fertilisation in 1978, over 8 million babies have been born by assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Although most ART babies and children seem healthy, in recent years, several human and animal model studies have evidenced a potential impact of ART on long-term development. However, the long-term follow-up data in this field is still limited. Till now, studies are mainly focused on techniques such as in vitro fertilisation or in vitro culture, being the information from gametes/embryos cryopreservation field practically missing. Herein, we have developed an animal model to determine whether vitrified-thawed embryo transfer procedure has long-term consequences over the offspring. The birth weight, growth performance and adult body weight of the rabbits derived from vitrified-thawed embryos was compared with that of the naturally-conceived animals. In adulthood, the liver, heart, kidneys, spleen, lungs, gonads and adrenal glands of the males were weighed and compared. Moreover, some haematological and biochemical parameters were assessed on peripheral blood. Besides, some liver samples were obtained to perform a comparative proteomic study. The embryo vitrification-transfer process modified the birth weight and the growth pattern of the offspring, reducing the growth performance in a sex-specific manner. In adulthood, animals derived from vitrified embryos showed a significantly lower body, liver and heart weight. Molecular analyses revealed that vitrified-thawed embryo transfer procedure triggers concordant reprogramming of the liver proteome. The most relevant metabolic alteration denoted by the protein profile was that related to the oxidative phosphorylation, suggesting an impaired oxidative metabolism in the mitochondria. Furthermore, hints of dysregulation in the zinc and lipid metabolism were identified. These results evidence long-term consequences in the offspring derived from cryopreserved-transferred embryos and represented an evident example of the phenotypic plasticity exhibited by the mammalian embryo.

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Effect of embryo in vitro culture on mESC transcriptome.

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