Relationship of anti-müllerian hormone with the quantity and quality of oocytes collected by ultrasound-guided aspiration in Holstein heifers

The experiment had two phases, the first one determined the relationship between the antral follicle count (AFC) and the concentration of Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) valued on the day the follicular wave restarted in 61 crossbred Holstein heifers, raised on farms, from the high tropics of Ecuador. The second phase compared the AFC assessed on the day of ultrasound-guided aspiration (OPU); as well as the quantity and quality of Cumulus Oocyte Complexes (COCs) recovered in animals with high (n=8) and low (n=8) concentrations of AMH. Follicular wave synchronization in the first phase of the study was performed with estradiol benzoate plus an intravaginal progesterone (IVD) and prostaglandin (PG) implant. The AFC and the taking of the blood samples in the first phase of the experiment were carried out on day 11 of the protocol. AMH cut-off values of greater than 0.12 ng·mL^-1 were established for the high AMH group and 0.05 ng·mL^-1 for the low AMH concentration group. The AMH concentration on day 0 (start of the follicular wave) was 0.13 ± 0.01 ng·mL^-1, with an AFC of 17.31 ± 0.69 follicles and a high and positive correlation between AMH and the AFC of r=0.93; P<0.001. In the second phase of the experiment, it was observed that the heifers with a high concentration of AMH had double the number of follicles and COCs compared to those with a low concentration; however, the recovery rate was similar (57 %) in the two groups. The existence of a high and positive correlation between AFC and AMH concentration was confirmed; Furthermore, a strong relationship was observed between AMH and the quantity and quality of COCs recovered by OPU. Heifers with greater than 12 ng·mL^-1 should be selected as oocyte donors, since they provided double the COC's suitable for the production of embryos in vitro (PIVE), which will influence the quantity and quality of embryos obtained at the end of the PIVE.