27 CLONING OF ADULT PIGS USING SCRIPTAID TREATMENT AND PREOVULATORY EMBRYO TRANSFER

There is growing interest in the use of swine in biomedical research. Cloning from cultured somatic cells (SCNT) has been the preferred method to generate genetically modified swine models. In a recent report, swine cloning efficiency was increased by treatment of reconstructed embryos with the inhibitor of deacetylase enzymes Scriptaid (Zhao et al. 2010 Cel. Reprog. 12, 75). Also, the timing of SCNT-embryo transfer with respect to the recipient’s expected time of ovulation was shown to affect cloning efficiency, whereas preovulatory embryo transfer resulted in a higher rate of cloned piglets born compared to postovulatory embryo transfer (Petersen et al. 2008 Cloning Stem Cells 10, 355). Therefore, our objective was to combine Scriptaid treatment and preovulatory embryo transfer in the same protocol for swine cloning. Cumulus–oocyte complexes aspirated from 3- to 6-mm diameter follicles were matured in vitro under standard conditions (Martinez Diaz et al. 2010 Cel. Reprog. 12, 85) and used as host oocytes for SCNT. Fibroblast cell lines were established from skin biopsies collected from 2 adult boars and cultured in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS and 1% antibiotics. Oocytes were micromanipulated in Tyrode’s lactate-pyruvate-HEPES medium supplemented with 7.5 µg mL–1 cytochalasin B (CB) and electrically fused using a single DC pulse of 1.6 kV cm–1 for 70 µs. Activation was performed using ionomycin (15 µM/5 min) followed by exposure to CB (7.5 µg mL–1) and cyclohexemide (10 µg mL–1) for 5 h in porcine zygote medium (PZM-3; Yoshioka et al. 2002 Biol. Reprod. 66, 112). Reconstructed embryos were exposed to 500 nM Scriptaid for 10 to 12 h starting after ionomycin treatment. Oocytes were then washed and cultured in PZM-3 medium until transfer. Peripubertal recipient gilts were synchronized by oral administration of altrenogest (Regu-Mate®; 20 mg day–1) for 12 days, followed by 1.000 IU eCG injected on the last day of altrenogest treatment and 500 IU hCG 72 h later. 1-cell stage embryos were transferred into the oviduct after ~20 h from hCG injection or 22 h before the expected ovulation time. Pregnancy was confirmed and monitored by ultrasonography and parturition was induced by injecting PGF2a at Day 115 of pregnancy. A total of 840 reconstructed embryos were transferred into 10 gilts [average 84 (range 60–110) embryos/gilt]. 4 gilts (40%) were detected to be pregnant 4 weeks after transfer, and 2 (20%) delivered 1 (1100 g) and 2 (950 and 850 g) healthy cloned piglets. The number of embryos transferred to these 2 gilts was 85 and 70. These results confirm that Scriptaid treatment and preovulatory embryo transfer can be applied in the same cloning protocol to produce cloned piglets from adult cell lines. To our knowledge, these are the first cloned pigs produced in Latin America.

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