25 June 2020

Back in the ‘80’s -‘90’s when cattle IVF began to be seriously used for breeding, and when the “large calf syndrome” was recognised as a consequence of embryo culture, the use of growth factors in medium was snubbed, as it was thought that such factors caused the syndrome. The real truth is that some cytokines and growth factors are very supportive of embryo development and quality. They decrease embryo ‘stress’, and reduce the incidence of cellular apoptosis (regulated cell death).