Effects of porcine follicular fluid on male pronucleus formation in porcine oocytes matured in vitro

Porcine follicular oocytes, collected from antral follicles (2–5 mm in diameter) of gilt ovaries, were matured in vitro with or without porcine follicular fluid (pFF), gonadotrophins (GTH) or fetal calf serum (FCS) for 48 hours at 37°C under 5% CO₂ in air, and their ability of male pronucleus (mPN) formation was examined after in vitro fertilization. Formation of mPN was observed in 38.6% of penetrated oocytes matured in modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution (TYH) 18 hours after insemination. The addition of GTH into the maturation medium did not improve the proportion of mPN-formed oocytes (20–30%). In contrast, the mPN formation rate elevated significantly (59.5%) when the oocytes were cultured with pFF, and the addition of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) enhanced this pFF action (the rate became 81.0%). In the presence of FSH, significant pFF effect was observable at the concentration of 5%, and its efficiency was elevated with the increase of pFF concentration. When the oocytes were matured with FCS, the mPN formation rate was unchanged or decreased rather than improved (0–25%). These results suggest that pFF, but not FCS, have substance(s) stimulating the ability of mPN formation in porcine oocytes.     

A follicular fluid component prevents gonadotropin reversal of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent meiotic arrest in murine oocytes

The effects of the putative maturation inhibitor in porcine follicular fluid on gonadotropinstimulated reversal of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-maintained meiotic arrest in mouse oocytes in vitro were assessed in this study. When cumulus cell-enclosed oocytes were cultured in a suboptimal inhibitory concentration of dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP), the effect of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) on oocyte maturation was initially inhibitory at 3 hr, but stimulatory at 6 hr. Supplementation of the medium with an ultrafiltrate of porcine follicuiar fluid (PM10-filtrate) completely suppressed FSH-promoted reversal of inhibition at 6 hr. Charcoal extraction eliminated this effect of the PM10-filtrate. FSH reversed the inhibition of maturation of cumulus cell-enclosed oocytes maintained by a high concentration of dbcAMP and suboptimal concentrations of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methyl xanthine (IBMX), during a 21–22-hr culture period. However, the effect of a completely inhibitory concentration of IBMX was not reversed by gonadotropin. A component of serum was also found to inhibit FSH reversal of dbcAMP-maintained meiotic arrest, and this activity was removed by charcoal extraction. In addition, when oocytes were cultured in medium containing a suboptimal concentration of dbcAMP plus a low molecular weight fraction (< 1,000) of porcine follicular fluid, porcine serum, or fetal bovine serum, a synergistic inhibition of maturation was observed. Experiments with highly purified gonadotropins revealed that reversal of dbcAMP-maintained meiotic arrest occurred only in response to FSH; neither highly purified luteinizing hormone nor human chorionic gonadotropin could mimic this action of FSH. Also, this effect was mediated by the cumulus cells, since FSH could not reverse dbcAMP-maintained meiotic arrest in denuded oocytes. Furthermore, elevating cAMP levels in denuded oocytes augmented, rather than reversed, the inhibitory action of dbcAMP on oocyte maturation. These data therefore suggest that dbcAMP- or IBMX-maintained meiotic arrest in vitro is reversed by an FSH-stimulated, cAMP-dependent process mediated by the cumulus cells and demonstrate that a factor present both in follicular fluid and serum prevents this action of the gonadotropin.     

IN VITRO FERTILIZATION OF IN VITRO MATURED MINKE WHALE (BALAENOPTERA ACUTOROSTRATA) FOLLICULAR OOCYTES

In vitro fertilization of follicular oocytes harvested from ovaries and matured in vitro was attempted for 55 minke whales ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata ) captured for Japanese research purposes in the Antarctic Ocean during the period from November 1995 to March 1996. In Experiment 1, effects of culture duration (96 h or 120 h) on maturation of follicular oocytes and addition of caffeine (5 mM) and/or heparin (100 pg/ml) on sperm penetration and pro-nuclear formation were investigated. Spermatozoa recovered from the vasa deferentia of four mature males were diluted (5-fold) and frozen at - 80°C. The post-thawed and pooled spermatozoa were used for in vitro insemination. A higher ( P < 0.05) proportion of the oocytes cultured for 120 h (34.2% of 260) progressed beyond the second metaphase stage than of the oocytes cultured for 96 h (26.0% of 262). For the matured oocytes, higher rates of penetration ( P < 0.05) and pronuclear formation ( P < 0.01) were obtained in the oocytes cultured for 120 h (55.1% and 40.4%) than in those cultured for 96 h (32.4 % and 20.6%). Addition of caffeine and heparin did not show a significant effect. In Experiment 2, follicular oocytes matured for 120 h and then inseminated were cultured to examine the subsequent development in two culture systems (with and without co-cultured cumulus cells). Of 448 inseminated oocytes, cleaved embryos (2–16 cells) were observed with (5.8%) and without (4.9%) co-cultured systems. No cleavage was observed in 54 ova without insemination. These results indicate that in vitro fertilization of minke whale in vitro matured follicular oocytes with cryopreserved spermatozoa is possible, yielding cleaved embryos.     

19-Norandrostenedione (4-estrene-3,17-dione) Inhibits Porcine Oocyte Maturation In Vitro

Recent work has shown that 19-norandrostenedione is a major steroidal component of porcine follicular fluid; however, little is known about its role(s) in the regulation of follicular function. This study was designed to examine the effect of 19-norandrostenedione on porcine oocyte maturation in vitro. Oocyte-cumulus complexes were isolated from medium (3–6-mm diameter)-sized prepubertal pig follicles and incubated for 12 h in medium with or without dibutyryl cyclic AMP ((Bu)₂cAMP, 1 mM) with or without testosterone (5 x 10^?7 M) or 19-norandrostenedione (5 x 10^?7 M). In medium alone, 70.8% of oocytes spontaneously resumed meiosis as evidenced by the occurrence of germinal vesicle breakdown. Oocyte maturation was inhibited by (Bu)₂cAMP (44.6% of oocytes matured). Although neither steroid alone affected maturation, both testosterone and 19-norandrostenedione enhanced the effect of (Bu)₂cAMP (22.5 and 19.6%, respectively, resumed meiosis). The effects of testosterone and 19-norandrostenedione on (Bu)₂cAMP-inhibited oocyte maturation were dose dependent and there was no significant difference between the actions of the steroids. The effect of 19-norandrostenedione was reversible and dependent on the presence of an intact cumulus. Hydroxyflutamide (SCH-16423), a nonsteroidal compound known to block androgen receptors, abolished the effects of both testosterone and 19-norandrostenedione on germinal vesicle breakdown, indicating that the actions of these steroids are truly androgenic. The results of this study suggest that 19-norandrostenedione may be of physiological importance in the regulation of porcine oocyte maturation.     

显微受精废弃的人类卵母细胞体外成熟及孤雌激活

以卵胞浆单精注射(intracytoplasmic sperm injection,ICSI)后废弃的未成熟人类卵母细胞(生发泡期卵母细胞(the germinal vesicle,GV)和第一次减数分裂中期卵母细胞(the metaphase,MI))为材料,使用卵母细胞体外成熟培养液培养未成熟的卵母细胞,分别在人类绒毛膜促性腺激素(human chorionic gonadotrophin,hCG)注射后45、60、84 h观察卵母细胞成熟情况.分别使用钙离子载体(calcium ionophore,CI)A23187联合6-二甲基氨基嘌呤(6-DMAP)法或精子提取物卵胞质内注射(sperm extracts intracytoplasmic injection,SEII)法两种不同的激活方法对体外成熟MII的卵母细胞进行孤雌激活,评价其体外发育潜能.MI卵子体外成熟率要显著高于GV(75.2%vs 30.6%)(P<0.01).与CI/6-DMAP法相比使用SEII/6-DMAP法在激活率(87.5%vs 70.2%)上要明显高于CI/6-DMAP法(P<0.05),但在卵裂率(65.7%vs 72.5%)和桑囊率(0%vs 5.0%)上SEII/6-DMAP法要低于CI/6-DMAP法.注射hCG 45 h组的卵母细胞激活率(91.3%vs 57.9%)、卵裂率(85.7%vs 57.9%)及桑囊率(9.5%vs 0%)均显著高于注射hCG 60 h组(P<0.01).56.8%(117/206)的ICSI废弃的未成熟卵母细胞可以在体外发育成熟,激活后具有一定的发育潜能,卵龄对卵母细胞的质量和发育能力影响较大.     

血管紧张素II在小鼠卵母细胞中的免疫组化定位(英文)

本文研究了血管紧张素II在小鼠卵母细胞中的免疫组织化学定位。结果表明血管紧张素II不仅分布在卵巢内的黄体细胞、卵泡的膜细胞、基质和血管,在卵母细胞的细胞质和细胞膜上也见有阳性分布。颗粒细胞和卵丘细胞上未见着色。在恢复减数分裂过程中,处于生发泡破裂和第一极体排放期的卵母细胞内也检测到血管紧张素II[(\265\304\303\342\322\337\321\364\320\324\316\357\241\243)238.1(\322\362\264\313)],血管紧张素II有可能在卵泡的生长发育和卵母细胞的成熟过程中起着重要作用。     

The development of meiotic competence in the rat: Role of hormones and of the stage of follicular development

Hypophysectomy of 15-day-old rats (hypox) markedly reduced the normal development of meiotic competence and abolished the development of antral follicles between days 21 and 31 postpartum (pp). Here the correlation among age of the rats, stage of follicular development, and meiotic competence was examined. Administration of pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (PMSG-3IU) or insertion of an estradiol-17β (E₂) capsule to hypox rats induced the development of meiotic competence provided the treatment started after day 20 pp. Hormonal treatments at an earlier age were not effective in inducing meiotic competence in hypox rats. The induction of meiotic competence by PMSG or E₂ was associated with an increase in the number of granulosa cells and formation of follicular antrum. The finding that PMSG and E₂ failed to induce meiotic competence when administered prior to day 21 pp suggests that the development of meiotic competence is an age-dependent process. When the hormonal treatments commenced after day 21, both follicular development and meiotic competence were induced.     

卵泡内环境对猪卵泡卵体外成熟和发育的影响

研究卵泡内环境对猪卵母细胞体外成熟、受精及受精卵体外发育的影响。主要结果如下：直径≥5mm、4－4.9mm、3－3.9mm和2－2.9mm的卵泡卵母细胞体外成熟率分别为90.5%、89.7%、85.4%和67.4%,体外受精后,卵母细胞的发育能力随卵泡直径的增大而增强,直径≥5mm和4－4.9mm卵泡卵的2－细胞、3－4－细胞发育率显著高于直径2－2.9mm的卵泡卵（P＜0.05或0.01）。体外成熟培养36h、42h和48h,直径2－2.9mm卵泡卵的体外成熟率,体外受精后的卵裂率差异不显著（P＞0.05）。在体外成熟培养液中添加5％或15％的不同直径卵泡的卵泡液,各组间卵母细胞的体外成熟率,受精卵的体外发育率均无显著差异,结果表明：卵泡大小对猪卵母细胞体外成熟、受精及受精卵体外发育有重要影响。     

Effects of oxygen tension and follicle cells on maturation and fertilization of porcine oocytes during in vitro culture in follicular fluid

The objective was to investigate the effects of oxygen tension and follicle cells (FCs) during in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes in only porcine (Sus scrofa domesticus) follicular fluid (pFF), using static and non-static (rotating) culture systems, on the nuclear maturation and subsequent in vitro fertilization of the oocytes. In the first experiment, cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured for 48 h in pFF supplemented with (+) or without (−) FCs (5.2 × 10⁶ cells/mL), using the static (S) and rotating (R) culture systems (+FC/S, −FC/S, +FC/R, and −FC/R) under 5% or 20% O₂. Co-culture with FCs in the static culture system (+FC/S) had a detrimental effect on the meiotic competence of oocytes, whereas co-culture with FCs in the rotating culture system (+FC/R) increased maturation rates. In both culture systems, oxygen tension had no apparent effects on meiotic competence of oocytes, irrespective of culture system and FC addition. In the second experiment, COCs were matured under 5% or 20% O₂ using the −FC/S or +FC/R culture systems and then fertilized. Oxygen tension had no significant effects on fertilization parameters, irrespective of the culture system. The rotating culture system increased rates of sperm penetration and male pronuclear formation and decreased polyspermic fertilization compared with the static culture system (P < 0.05). In conclusion, both −FC/S and +FC/R culture systems supported meiotic competence, irrespective of oxygen tension. However, the +FC/R culture system may be superior to the −FC/S culture system for promoting fertilization.