LSU Veterinarians Deliver Cloned Calves by Caesarian Section
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 26, 2001
BATON ROUGE -- A team of LSU veterinarians recently delivered two cloned calves by caesarean section at the university's School of Veterinary Medicine.
The veterinarians delivered Mouille and Soleil on different days so they could focus intensely on each calf after its birth. Mouille, French for "wet," was born on a rainy Monday morning, January 29. Soleil, or "sun," was born the following Tuesday.
The calves were cloned by Cyagra Inc. of Manhattan, Kan., under a trial procedure Cyagra is filing as a new patent. The company brought its cloning technology to LSU in the form of two surrogate cows who gave birth to the Charolais calves. The calves were developed for Lester Colomb of the Colomb Cattle Company of Lafayette, La.
The veterinary school became involved in the project to deliver the calves and to provide the necessary medical treatment in the first critical days. Mouille and Soleil are the seventh and eighth calves cloned by Cyagra since August but are the first cloned through a new process developed by the company.
Cyagra Inc. is a division of Advanced Cell Technology, a company focusing on development of transgenic animal technologies with applications in protein production and cell and organ transplant therapy. Cyagra's research and work focuses on livestock cloning for individual clients that will also further its own research.
According to Audy Spell, director of operations for Cyagra, "Most of the livestock we develop is for clients wanting to replicate something valuable."
Cloning involves transfer of a donor cell into an enucleated oocyte, or cell whose DNA has been extracted. Cyagra then performs numerous procedures to mimic natural occurrences of cell reproduction before the developed embryos are transferred into a surrogate mother who will carry the pregnancy to term.
"The cloning process for Mouille and Soleil is basically the same as our past clones," Spell said. "What was different was the method we used to mature the oocyte serving as the recipient for the donor cell. We utilized a novel treatment that seems to slightly improve the efficiency of the process," he explained.
A team of experts from the veterinary school, including food-animal surgeons, theriogenologists, anesthesiologists and neonatal care specialists, shared expertise and resources to care for the surrogate mothers and calves.
"It was gratifying to have so many faculty involved in this project. Ultimately it was a great experience working with these animals and also participating in a true team effort among experts," said Dr. Carlos Pinto, clinical instructor in theriogenology, who established the relationship with Cyagra and coordinated the animal care.
Both the surrogate cows and calves received extensive medical treatment before and after the births. Pinto monitored the surrogate mothers before the calves were born, including close observation of the pregnancy, conducting fetal ultrasonographies and inducing labor.
Cyagra informed LSU veterinarians that only 25 percent of their clones were born as completely healthy calves and that most need intensive care at birth due to unexplained respiratory problems. Although the respiratory complications are still a puzzle, Cyagra believes they are most likely a cause of the artificial procedures and culture media used in producing the clones.
"It was suggested to us that the calves be treated like a premature infant or foal even though they reached full-term based on their gestational age," explained Dr. Marge Gill, clinical associate professor of veterinary clinical sciences at LSU.
LSU veterinarians began by supplying steroids to the surrogate mother to mature the calves' lungs. Immediately after birth their lungs were inflated, and they received surfactant, a normal substance in the alveoli of the lungs that is reproduced commercially to help premature lungs by reducing the surface tension of fluids and making lung tissue more elastic. The calves were given oxygen through nasal tubes to assist their breathing.
Mouille and Soleil also received antibiotics to prevent infection in their lungs, and colostrum and plasma for antibody protection. "Apparently the surrogate cows do not recognize that it is time to deliver the calves, and they do not have much, if any, colostrum or milk, making the plasma necessary for protection from post-natal infections," Gill said.
Shortly after birth, Soleil was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect, or hole between the large chambers of the heart. According to Dr. Ken Angel, chief of food-animal medicine at LSU, the defect is one of the most common congenital heart defects in cattle. In addition, Soleil suffered from severe respiratory problems, and a decision was made to euthanize her based on complications from both problems.
After two weeks of intense care at the veterinary school, Mouille was released to Colomb Cattle Company with a positive diagnosis for her health. Cyagra will monitor the calf closely for the following months and will evaluate her reproductive capabilities to ensure that as a clone she can produce natural offspring as any other cattle would.
"Cyagra is continuously working on many other novel procedures and exciting ways to utilize cloning in livestock. I think in a very short time we will have some extraordinary announcements that would entice anyone in the livestock industry to look seriously at cloning as the next tool in their breeding programs," Spell said.
"This was the first such experience for the veterinary school and Louisiana," Pinto said. "The improvement of cloning techniques worldwide will involve LSU with other such developments, not only the improvement of cloning, but also an understanding of the best possible care for these cloned calves."- 30 -Contact Melissa EdmonstonLSU School of Veterinary Medicine225-578-9922
Kristine CalongneLSU News Service225-578-5985 [email protected]
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