Proteolytically Degraded Alginate Hydrogels and Hydrophobic Microbioreactors for Porcine Oocyte Encapsulation

In reproductive biology, the biotechnology revolution that began with artificial insemination and embryo transfer technology led to the development of assisted reproduction techniques such as oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF) and cloning of domestic animals by nuclear transfer from somatic cell. IVM is the method particularly of significance. It is the platform technology for the supply of mature, good quality oocytes for applications such as reduction of the generation interval in commercially important or endangered species, research concerning in vitro human reproduction, and production of transgenic animals for cell therapies. The term oocyte quality includes its competence to complete maturation, be fertilized, thereby resulting in healthy offspring. This means that oocytes of good quality are paramount for successful fertilization including IVF procedures. This poses many difficulties to develop a reliable culture method that would support growth not only of human oocytes but also of other large mammalian species. The first step in IVM is the in vitro culture of oocytes. This work describes two protocols for the 3D culture of porcine oocytes. In the first, 3D model cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) are encapsulated in a fibrin-alginate bead interpenetrating network, in which a mixture of fibrin and alginate are gelled simultaneously. In the second one, COCs are suspended in a drop of medium and encapsulated with fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP; a copolymer of hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene) powder particles to form microbioreactors defined as Liquid Marbles (LM). Both 3D systems maintain the gaseous in vitro culture environment. They also maintain COCs 3D organization by preventing their flattening and consequent disruption of gap junctions, thereby preserving the functional relationship between the oocyte, and surrounding follicular cells.