Monday, December 21st 2015. Born in the United States, the first in vitro fertilization puppy litter; such an achievement could mean a huge leap for fighting hereditary diseases in canines. It was achieved by a group of researchers from New York Cornell University who, after several attempts, managed to successfully witness the birth of 7 puppies.
The finding, published by the University itself, could mean a huge forward leap in the field of fighting hereditary disease; and contributes to the study of the development of inborn diseases in dogs, since they share over 350 disorders and hereditary traits with humans.
Since halfway in the 70s, this has been tried unsuccessfully on dogs; according to Alex Travis, an associate professor in Reproductive Biology for Baker Institute for Animal Health, in Cornell’s Veterinary Medicine Faculty. Likewise, he asserted that in order to achieve the fertilization, the researchers transferred 19 previously treated embryos to the chosen dog to be pregnant, which gave birth to seven healthy pups.
The scientists manifested that the first challenge was collecting the mature eggs to be fertilized from the female dog, due to how difficult it is to know the most optimal moment for their fertilization; since the reproductive cycles of dogs are different from other mammals’. For the fertilization’s success, the specialists fertilized a mature egg with a sperm cell in a lab in order to produce an embryo; which would then be inserted in the expectant dog at exactly the right time in its reproductive cycle.
Experts considered that if they had let the egg mature one more day, the chances for success could have been higher. Subsequently, after achieving the eggs’ fertilization, the next challenge consisted in making sure the dog’s reproductive tract was at its best for the fertilization process, simulating the uterine conditions in the lab. They also discovered that by adding magnesium to the environment, the expectant mother’s body welcomed the sperm cells better.
Professor Travis pointed out that these through these two changes, the fertilization rates rose from 80% to 90%. The great challenge for the research team was freezing the embryos, since this is the only way they can be inserted in the receiving oviducts –called fallopian tubes in humans- at the convenient moment of the reproductive cycle, which happens only once or twice a year.
In vitro fertilization will allow for species conservation by storing sperm cells and eggs and being able to grow them again, on top of the ability to reproduce endangered species. With the new gene modification techniques and in vitro fertilization, many potentially dangerous genetic diseases can be prevented before they even develop; as well as provide insight on many ailments that humans and canines share.
ALFA