Neither frozen–thawed seminal plasma nor commercial transforming growth factor‐β1 infused intra‐utero before insemination improved fertility and prolificacy in sows

Seminal plasma (SP) affects reproduction, inducing cell and molecular changes in the female genital tract. A main active component in SP is the modulatory transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β), particularly its TGF‐β1 isoform, which affects the synthesis of other cytokines as granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor, relevant for embryo development and pregnancy. This study evaluated the effect of pooled frozen–thawed SP and commercial TGF‐β1 infused during oestrus in sows post‐cervically inseminated with liquid extended semen, containing ~4 ml of residual SP, on their fertility and prolificacy. For this, 250 sows in their post‐weaning oestrus were used. Sows were randomly assigned to one of the following groups to be post‐cervically treated 30 min before insemination: (i) SP group: infused with 40 ml of SP (N = 57); ii) Group TFG(ß1): infused with 40 ml of BTS extender containing 3 ng/ml of porcine TGF‐β1 (N = 64); iii) BTS group: infused with 40 ml of BTS extender (N = 60); and iv) Control Group: sows catheterized but not infused prior to AI (N = 69). Farrowing rates (range: 86.7% to 91.3%) and numbers of live‐born piglets (range: range: 12.8 ± 2.9 to 13.4 ± 3.1) were not affected by any treatment compared with Controls, indicating that neither pre‐infusions of SP nor TGF‐ß1 30 min before AI influenced subsequent fertility and prolificacy.