5-Dimensional High-Resolution non-invasive assessment of mammalian Embryos (5DHiResE)

哺乳动物胚胎的 5 维高分辨率非侵入性评估 (5DHiResE)

基本信息

批准号：
BB/S016643/1
负责人：
Adrian Podoleanu
金额：
$ 61.62万
依托单位：
University of Kent
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2019 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FS016643%2F1
关键词：
Dimensional Resolution non invasive assessment

项目摘要

The global population will rise from 7 to 9 billion by 2050 with an increasing pressure on natural resources. Diets are also changing towards more meat and dairy products meaning that there is increasing global demand for food, land, energy, water and other resources, e.g. phosphate fertilisers. The livestock sector is challenged to find new ways of accommodating this need while agriculture is competing for resources as urbanisation and industrialisation put more pressure on land use. It is routine practice for pig and cattle breeding companies to transport animals to countries with underdeveloped breeding programs to enhance the quality of their local breeds. Such procedures however have a high cost financially, environmentally and logistically, and raise ethical concerns, despite evidence-based assurances of the companies involved. These factors have resulted in the in vitro production (IVP) of pig and cattle embryos being of increased interest to producers, given that great financial and environmental benefits could be made. Pigs and cattle account for ~60% of meat and ~85% of milk consumption and speed and efficiency at which genetic improvement can be introduced can be much improved through the use of these embryos. It also allows us to facilitate the national and international transport of genetically superior stock in a high animal-welfare, low-cost and bio-secure manner. This is an issue of great global significance, particularly to the industrial partners involved in this application. Significant improvements are however essential to realise the potential of pig and cattle embryos for this use. While cattle (and to some extent pig) IVP continues along a parallel path to human IVF, success rates are relatively low compared to human. Novel and innovative approaches developed with animal embryos in mind from the outset are thus urgently needed and these may, in turn, ultimately inform future developments in human IVF. Most modern human IVF units now own devices that are both incubator and camera for monitoring embryo development and some studies show that their use improves birth rates. While we have made significant strides in this area for pigs and cattle, the imaging is limited, in part because pig and cattle embryos are harder to see because of their high fat content. To improve this, we have recently made use of a new technique called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). This provides a 3D image of the embryo and we can extend the analysis into 4 and 5 dimensions to look at how "active" the embryos are (this is called tiny movement analysis - TMA) and how "elastic" the embryos are (using OCT for elastography measurements). In essence, we will ask the question whether embryos that are "better looking"(in 3D) more "lively" (TMA) and more "elastic" are more likely to survive. This is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between Biosciences and Physical Sciences and complements the work we have ongoing to improve pig and cattle IVP generally. The proposal builds on the widespread acceptance of time lapse imaging systems in IVF clinics but augments it from 2 to 5 dimensional analysis. It builds on the world leading expertise of two very different disciplines at Kent. Recent research has shown that 2D monitoring can significantly improve human IVF. We intend to demonstrate whether 5D monitoring can improve the equivalent process in pigs and cattle.

到 2050 年，全球人口将从 7 亿增加到 90 亿，自然资源面临的压力也越来越大。人们的饮食结构也开始转向更多的肉类和乳制品，这意味着全球对食品、土地、能源、水和其他资源（例如水）的需求不断增加。磷肥。随着城市化和工业化给土地使用带来更大压力，农业正在争夺资源，畜牧业面临着寻找新方法来满足这一需求的挑战。猪牛养殖公司将动物运输到育种计划不发达的国家以提高当地品种的质量是惯例。然而，尽管相关公司做出了基于证据的保证，但此类程序在财务、环境和后勤方面成本高昂，并引发道德问题。这些因素导致生产者对猪和牛胚胎的体外生产（IVP）越来越感兴趣，因为它可以带来巨大的经济和环境效益。猪和牛占肉类消耗量的约 60%，牛奶消耗量的约 85%，通过使用这些胚胎可以大大提高引入遗传改良的速度和效率。它还使我们能够以高动物福利、低成本和生物安全的方式促进遗传优质种群的国内和国际运输。这是一个具有重大全球意义的问题，特别是对于参与该应用的工业合作伙伴而言。然而，要实现猪和牛胚胎在这一用途上的潜力，重大改进至关重要。虽然牛（在某种程度上还有猪）体外受精继续沿着与人类体外受精平行的道路发展，但与人类相比，成功率相对较低。因此，迫切需要从一开始就考虑到动物胚胎而开发的新颖和创新方法，而这些方法最终可能会为人类体外受精的未来发展提供信息。大多数现代人类试管婴儿设备现在都拥有用于监测胚胎发育的孵化器和摄像头设备，一些研究表明它们的使用可以提高出生率。虽然我们在猪和牛的这一领域取得了重大进展，但成像效果有限，部分原因是猪和牛胚胎由于脂肪含量高而很难看到。为了改善这一点，我们最近使用了一种称为光学相干断层扫描（OCT）的新技术。这提供了胚胎的 3D 图像，我们可以将分析扩展到 4 和 5 维，以查看胚胎的“活跃”程度（这称为微小运动分析 - TMA）以及胚胎的“弹性”程度（使用 OCT）用于弹性成像测量）。本质上，我们会问这样一个问题：“更好看”（在 3D 中）、更“活泼”（TMA）和更有“弹性”的胚胎是否更有可能存活。这是生物科学和物理科学之间的跨学科合作，补充了我们正在进行的总体改善猪和牛 IVP 的工作。该提案建立在 IVF 诊所广泛接受延时成像系统的基础上，但将其从 2 维分析扩展到 5 维分析。它建立在肯特大学两个截然不同学科的世界领先专业知识之上。最近的研究表明，二维监测可以显着改善人类体外受精。我们打算证明 5D 监测是否可以改善猪和牛的等效过程。