Exposure to colony stimulating factor 2 during preimplantation development increases postnatal growth in XXXX .

@entity291 @entity45359
UNASSIGNED: The microenvironment of a preimplantation embryo can influence changes in development that affect postnatal phenotypes. One of the potential mediators of this effect in many species is colony-stimulating factor ( @entity45359 ), which can increase an embryo's ability to establish pregnancy after its transfer into recipients. Exposure of embryos to @entity45359 during early development can also affect the pattern of development later in pregnancy in a sex-dependent manner. We therefore hypothesized that treatment of in vitro-produced embryos with @entity45359 in culture would alter birth weight and postnatal growth of the resultant @entity291 . Body weight and withers height were measured for Holstein heifer @entity291 produced in vitro with or without 10   ng/ml @entity45359 and for @entity291 produced by artificial insemination. There were no differences in birth weight between groups; thereafter, however, @entity291 from the @entity45359 -treated group experienced greater increases in body weight through 13 months of age, with only small differences in withers height. These results support the model that an embryo's postnatal characteristics can be programmed during the preimplantation period, and that @entity45359 is one of the embryokines through which programming is directed. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 2015.    2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
