Vaginal Lipid Profiles Predict Bovine Embryo Implantation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques for bovine calf production face challenges such as high costs, invasive procedures, and low success rates in embryo implantation and pregnancy maintenance due to the lack of effective methods for identifying suitable surrogate dams.
Innovation Solution
The use of vaginal lipid profiles from bovine surrogate dams to predict successful embryo implantation and pregnancy through lipidome analysis, allowing for the selection of suitable surrogate dams and potential interventions to enhance implantation and pregnancy rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If IVF techniques are used for bovine calf production, then genetic diversity and offspring production increase, but cost and procedure invasiveness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary assessment of surrogate dam suitability through vaginal lipid profiling before embryo transfer. By analyzing the vaginal lipidome in advance, the system identifies dams with favorable lipid profiles (e.g., specific ratios of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin) that predict successful embryo implantation and pregnancy maintenance. This preliminary action allows selection of optimal recipients, thereby improving IVF success rates and productivity while reducing the need for repeated invasive procedures.
2Productivity
If IVF embryo transfer is performed, then offspring production increases, but pregnancy success rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism by using vaginal lipidome analysis to assess surrogate dam suitability and predict pregnancy outcomes. The lipid profile serves as a biological feedback signal that indicates whether a dam is likely to successfully maintain pregnancy. Dams with favorable lipid profiles (specific ratios of vaginal lipids) are selected for embryo transfer, while those with unfavorable profiles are excluded or subjected to interventions. This feedback-driven selection significantly improves pregnancy success rates and overall IVF efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If traditional surrogate selection methods are used, then selection process is simple, but accuracy of identifying suitable surrogate dams decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical/visual assessment methods for surrogate dam selection with a biochemical analysis system. Instead of relying on simple physical examinations or basic hormonal assays, the system uses vaginal lipidome profiling to objectively assess dam suitability. This substitution of mechanical assessment with biochemical measurement dramatically improves selection accuracy while maintaining operational feasibility through automated lipid analysis platforms.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides, inter alia, methods for assessing suitability of a bovine animal as an effective surrogate dam for embryo implantation and maintenance of pregnancy, which methods include obtaining a lipidome profile for a bovine animal, quantifying the ratios of individual lipids, in particular phospholipids, and determining whether the bovine animal exhibits a lipid ratio profile that is predictive of successful embryo implantation and, thereby, assessing the likelihood of a successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) derived embryo implantation, and pregnancy. In further aspects, the present disclosure provides methods for generating a lipidome database. Also provided are compositions and kits for use in those methods to obtain and quantify the lipidome profile of a bovine animal.