Effect of oviduct environment on embryonic development
Gandolfi, F.; Brevini, T.A.; Moor, R.M.
Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Supplement 38: 107-115
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0449-3087 PMID: 2677341 Document Number: 346416
In this review, largely of the authors' work on sheep, it is shown that the oviduct exerts a direct and positive role on the early phases of embryonic development. This effect can be reproduced in vitro, as the addition of oviductal cells to cultures of sheep eggs collected in vivo, or produced by in vitro maturation and fertilization, greatly enhances their subsequent development. It is suggested that in addition to the proteins secreted by the epithelial cells on days 1-4 of the cycle, the oviduct interacts with the embryo at a number of levels.