Lipolysis and ultrastructural changes of intracellular lipid vesicles after cooling of bovine and porcine GV-oocytes

The aim of our investigation was to compare the ultrastructure of lipid droplets, and the effect of cooling on intracellular lipid vesicles of bovine and porcine GV oocytes. The lipid droplets in bovine GV oocytes have a homogeneous structure. The utilization of lipids takes place directly from these vesicles without formation of interim lipid compounds. In contrast, there are two kinds of lipid droplets in porcine GV oocytes: 'dark', homogeneous vesicles next to 'grey' vesicles with electron-lucent streaks. Vesicles of each specific group are connected to each other. After a 12-h culture, the formation of the cisternal smooth endoplasmic reticulum layer was always associated with 'grey' lipid vesicles. This is evidence that during oogenesis lipolysis takes place only in 'grey' vesicles. It is supposed that cytoplasmic lipolysis has two stages: 'dark' vesicles change into a 'grey' form followed by a utilization of these 'grey' lipids. Furthermore, both types of lipid droplets in porcine oocytes changed morphologically during cooling: they changed into a spherical form with lucent streaks. Lipid droplets in bovine GV oocytes revealed no visible morphological changes after cooling.     

不同激活方法对猪体外成熟卵母细胞孤雌发育的影响

通过系统探讨不同孤雌激活方法对猪卵母细胞体外激活后发育效果的影响,比较了乙醇（Ethanol,EH）、离子霉素（Ionomycin,Ion：5μmol/L）、氯化锶（Strontium chloride hexahydrate,Sr^2＋：10 mmol/L）、6-二甲氨基嘌呤（6-dimethylaminopurine,6-DMAP：2 mmol/L）和放线菌酮（cycloheximide,CHX：10 mg/L）对猪卵母细胞激活发育的效果。结果表明：（1）9%EH激活处理10 min效果好于15 min;（2）使用9%EH激活处理10 min,再结合CHX、6-DMAP、Sr^2＋、CHX＋Sr^2＋、Sr^2＋＋6-DMAP、CHX＋6-DMAP或CHX＋6-DMAP＋Sr^2＋组处理3～4 h,以EH＋6-DMAP组效果最好,分裂率及囊胚率分别达到82.86%和22.86%;（3）在使用化学激活（Ion＋6-DMAP组和9%乙醇10 min＋6-DMAP组）和电激活（50 V/mm,50μs,2t）的方法中,Ion法激活猪卵母细胞效果较好,囊胚率达到37.50%;（4）卵母细胞包被的卵丘细胞层数不同对卵母细胞成熟激活有显著的影响,卵丘细胞层数4～6层和多于6层的卵丘-卵母细胞复合体孤雌激活的分裂率和囊胚率分别为（68.99%,32.56%）和（75.36%,37.68%）,2组之间差异不显著（P〉0.05）;但其显著高于其他组（P〈0.05）,这2组细胞在猪孤雌激活发育研究中是最佳的实验研究材料。     

The effects of canthaxanthin on porcine oocyte maturation and embryo development in vitro after parthenogenetic activation and somatic cell nuclear transfer

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of canthaxanthin (Cx) treatment during in vitro maturation (IVM) of porcine oocytes on embryonic development after parthenogenetic activation (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), on intracellular glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in mature oocytes, and on gene expression in both PA‐ and SCNT‐derived blastocysts. To determine the optimal effective concentration of Cx, porcine oocytes were cultured in IVM medium supplemented with various concentrations (0, 20, 40 and 80 μM) of Cx for 22 hr. Compared to other groups, supplementation with 40 μM Cx significantly improved blastocyst formation rates after PA (p < .05), but no significant differences were observed among groups in total blastocyst cell numbers. Subsequently, oocytes were cultured in IVM medium supplemented with or without 40 μM Cx. Oocytes treated with 40 μM Cx showed significantly increased cleavage and blastocyst formation rates after SCNT compared to the control group (p < .05). Moreover, significantly increased intracellular GSH and reduced ROS levels were observed in the Cx‐treated group (p < .05). In addition, both PA‐ and SCNT‐derived blastocysts from the 40 μM Cx‐treated group showed significantly increased mRNA expression of Bcl2 and Oct4 and decreased Caspase3 expression level (p < .05), when compared with the control group. PA‐derived blastocysts from the 40 μM Cx‐treated group also exhibited significantly decreased expression of Bax (p < .05). Our results demonstrated that treatment with 40 μM Cx during IVM improves the developmental competence of PA and SCNT embryos. Improvement of embryo development by Cx is most likely due to increased intracellular GSH synthesis, which reduces ROS levels in oocytes, and it may also positively regulate apoptosis‐ and development‐related genes.     

Effects of ghrelin on in vitro development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of addition of ghrelin to in vitro culture medium on preimplantation development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos. In Experiment 1, we sought to compare the in vitro developmental competence of IVF and parthenogenetic embryos. No significant (P<0.05) differences were detected for cleavage rate or blastocyst rate between the in vitro fertilization (IVF)- and parthenogenetic activation-derived embryos. In Experiment 2, parthenogenetic embryos were cultured in Porcine Zygote Medium-3 containing various concentrations of ghrelin. The blastocyst rate was remarkably (P<0.05) increased when 5 ng/ml (PA-5) and 500 ng/ml (PA-500) of ghrelin was added to in vitro culture medium compared with the other groups. Total cell number per blastocyst was slightly promoted in the ghrelin treatment groups compared with the controls. However, the ratio of inner cell mass (ICM) cell number/total cell number was significantly reduced in the PA-50 group compared with the controls (P<0.05). In Experiment 3, we cultured in vitro fertilized embryos in Porcine Zygote Medium-3 supplemented with ghrelin at different dosages. The rate of blastocyst formation was markedly (P<0.05) elevated when 500 ng/ml ghrelin was added to culture medium (IVF-500) compared with the controls. Increased total cell numbers (P<0.05) were observed when in vitro fertilized embryos were cultured in IVF-50 and IVF-500 compared with the controls. However, the ratio of ICM cell number/total cell number was decreased in the ghrelin treatment groups compared with the controls (P<0.05). Taken together, the results suggest that ghrelin can enhance blastocyst formation of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos while exerting a negative effect on the structural integrity of the blastocysts.     

猪卵母细胞体外受精条件的优化

猪卵母细胞体外受精(in vitro fertilization,IVF)技术为受精和胚胎早期发育机理等基础理论的研究及生产实践提供了重要的研究手段。虽然猪IVF的研究已经取得了一些进展,但其囊胚发育率仍然较低,亟需建立更为稳定、高效的体外受精方法。本试验通过比较精子浓度,精子获能处理,不同精卵共孵育培养体系以及在卵母细胞成熟过程中添加不同激素等影响猪卵母细胞体外受精胚胎发育能力的因素,以求找到最佳的猪卵母细胞体外受精体系。结果显示:在精子浓度为1×10~5~1×10~7/mL,5×10~6/mL的精子浓度显著提高体外受精效率(P<0.05);以茶碱、咖啡及咖啡因联合使用肝素作为获能物质处理精子,发现2.5 mmol/L茶碱处理组体外受精效率显著提高(P<0.05);通过比较不同的受精体系,发现使用40个卵/500μL体系显著提高体外受精效率(P<0.05);在卵母细胞成熟液中添加不同激素组合,发现添加10IU/mL PMSG,10IU/mL HCG和2.5IU/mL FSH激素组合,体外受精效率显著提高(P<0.05)。本试验结果表明,在M199中添加10IU/mL PMSG,10IU/mL HCG和2.5IU/mL FSH体外成熟培养卵母细胞,以5×10~6/mL精子浓度,2.5mmol/L茶碱作为获能物质处理精子,40个卵/500μL共孵育的IVF体系效果最佳,其卵裂率为(61.33±0.77)%,囊胚率为(28.33±1.08)%。本试验将为深入研究猪IVF提供理论参考。     

Effects of activation methods on DNA synthesis and development of parthenogenetic porcine embryos

This study investigated the timing of DNA synthesis and patterns of pronuclear (PN) formation during the first cell cycle, and its influence on developmental competence, velocity and proliferation index of porcine parthenote blastocysts produced by different activation treatments. Oocytes were activated as follows: electrical stimulation (EST), EST combined with 7.5 μg/ml cytochalasin B (EST + CCB), 10 μg/ml cycloheximide (EST + CHX) and 1.9 mm 6-dimethylaminopurine (EST + 6-DMAP) for 3 h. DNA synthesis and PN formation were evaluated using 1 mm 5'bromo-2'deoxy-uridne (BrdU) at 2 h intervals from 1 to 13 h or 5 to 13 h of post-activation (hpa), respectively. In EST, DNA synthesis started at 3 hpa, reached the peak at 11 hpa and decreased at 13 hpa. Treatment with 6-DMAP resulted in an early increase of DNA synthesis at 3 hpa, whereas CCB delayed DNA synthesis for 2 h. In EST and EST + 6-DMAP, most of the eggs showed 1PN, whereas, incidence of 2PN in EST + CCB was higher than 1PN. EST + CHX was observed with 1PN, 2PN and multiple PN. Blastocyst rate in EST + CCB and EST + 6-DMAP were significantly (p<0.05) higher than EST + CHX. But, the developmental velocity was not different among groups. Proliferation index of blastocysts, as indicated the number of blastomere at S-phase of the cell cycle was low in all groups. In conclusion, CCB, CHX and 6-DMAP used for producing porcine parthenogenetic embryos induced different onset of DNA synthesis and PN, but they did not affect the subsequent embryo development.     

Effect of recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone on in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes evaluated by the subsequent in vitro development of embryos obtained by in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or parthenogenetic activation

The aim of this work was to study the effect of recombinant human (rh) FSH and LH on in vitro maturation of pig oocytes compared with a conventional hormonal supplement based on equine (PMSG) and human chorionic gonadotropins (hCG), as evaluated by the developmental ability of 3 types of pig embryos obtained by in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), or artificial activation (ATA). In Exp. 1, one cumulus-oocyte complex group (A group) was supplemented with rh-FSH and rh-LH (0.1 IU/mL each), and the other group (B group) was supplemented with PMSG and hCG (10 IU/mL each). No differences in nuclear maturation between the A and B groups were observed (68.5 vs. 71.4%, respectively). No differences were detected between hormonal treatments in the rates of cleavage or blastocyst formation of ATA, IVF, and ICSI embryos. Total cell number of the embryos was not significantly different in any experimental group (A: 31.1, 28.5, and 19.8 vs. B: 25.2, 25.5, and 20.6 for ATA, IVF, and ICSI embryos, respectively). In Exp. 2, the effects of different concentrations of rh-FSH and rh-LH (0.5, 0.1, or 0.05 IU/mL) in maturation medium on nuclear maturation and in vitro development of embryos obtained by IVF were studied. No effect of different hormonal concentrations on blastocyst formation rates was observed (8.5, 13.0, and 5.7%, respectively). Blastocyst cell number was not different in any experimental group. In conclusion, the results obtained here permit us to substitute PMSG and hCG with rh-FSH and rh-LH and to produce pig embryos obtained by IVF, ICSI, or ATA.     

猪孤雌胚胎体外培养影响因素

对NCSU-23和PZM-3等2种培养基体外培养猪孤雌激活(PA)胚胎的效果进行了比较,结果显示,PZM-3组与NCSU-23组PA胚胎囊胚孵化率差异显著(32.6%vs 18.9%,P<0.05);NCSU-23中添加2%必需氨基酸(EAA)显著降低猪PA胚胎的囊胚发育率(20.1%vs 25.1%,P<0.05);添加1%非必需氨基酸(NEAA)显著提高猪PA胚胎的囊胚率(24.7%vs 19.7%,P<0.05),但是联合添加NEAA和EAA对猪PA胚胎体外发育无显著影响(P>0.05).     

Effect of relaxin on in vitro fertilization of porcine oocytes

Porcine relaxin is a peptide hormone belonging to the insulin super family that has a variety of biological functions. The present experiment was designed to investigate the effects of relaxin on sperm function and on in vitro fertilization (IVF) of porcine oocytes. Porcine spermatozoa were washed, swum-up, and incubated for 1-4 h in mTALP medium supplemented with 0, 20 or 50 ng/ml porcine relaxin. Motility was determined by observing the type of forward movement of the spermatozoa, and acrosome status was evaluated by applying the triple staining technique. Immature oocytes were aspirated from antral follicles and matured in IVM medium (modified NCSU-37). Matured oocytes were co-cultured with spermatozoa in IVF medium (mTALP) supplemented with 0, 5, 10, 15 or 20 ng/ml relaxin. After 6 h of sperm-oocyte co-incubation, putative zygotes were cultured for 18 h in oocyte culture medium NCSU-37 and then assessed for the rates of monospermy, polyspermy, and male pronucleus formation after acetic orcein staining. Relaxin improved (P<0.05) sperm motility and increased the percentage of acrosome-reacted live spermatozoa during 1-4 h of incubation, although viability was not significantly improved. Significantly (P<0.05) the highest percentage of monospermic (31.7%) and lowest percentage of polyspermic (16.5%) fertilization was achieved from the sperm-oocyte co-culture group treated with 20 ng/ml relaxin as compared to other groups. The percentage of male pronucleus formation was significantly (P<0.05) greater in the 20 ng/ml relaxin-treated sperm-oocyte co-culture group than in the other groups. These results indicate that supplementation with relaxin is capable of improving sperm function and fertilization of porcine oocytes in vitro.     

胎牛血清对猪孤雌胚早期体外发育的影响

探讨了在猪孤雌胚体外发育的第3、4、5、6天分别添加胎牛血清(FCS)对孤雌胚发育能力的影响.结果,在体外培养的第5,6天添加10%FCS组得到的囊胚率和囊胚孵化率最高,第5天添加FCS组的囊胚细胞数最多.结果表明,FCS可以促进猪孤雌胚胎的早期体外发育.     

胰岛素和白血病抑制因子对猪卵母细胞体外成熟和孤雌激活胚胎的影响

为探讨胰岛素(Insulin)和白血病抑制因子(Leukemia inhibit factor,LIF)对猪卵母细胞体外成熟(IVM)和猪孤雌激活胚胎(PAEs)的影响,在卵母细胞体外成熟或者胚胎培养基中添加Insulin和LIF,研究卵裂率和囊胚率的变化。结果:添加了5μg/mL Insulin后猪卵母细胞体外成熟效果显著提高,但成熟后孤雌激活发育能力与非添加组相近;而胚胎培养基中添加Insulin对孤雌胚的卵裂和囊胚的形成也没有明显促进作用;添加1 000 U/mL的LIF后,卵母细胞核成熟率没有明显提高,反而孤雌激活后囊胚率急剧下降,但对卵裂率以及囊胚总细胞数影响不大;在胚胎培养基中添加LIF后,孤雌胚的卵裂和囊胚形成并没有明显的提高。表明:Insulin对卵母细胞体外成熟有益,但是对孤雌胚胎的最佳处理程序还需要摸索;本文所采用的LIF处理对猪卵体外成熟以及孤雌胚胎体外发育没有帮助,还需要进一步研究其他浓度和处理程序对猪卵母细胞体外成熟和孤雌激活胚胎发育能力的影响。     

Excess polyspermy reduces the ability of porcine oocytes to promote male pronuclear formation after in vitro fertilization

Male pronucleus (MPN) formation is a very important physiological event during fertilization, which affects in vitro production of transferrable embryos. The aim of this study was to find out the correlation between the number of penetrated sperm and the occurrence of failure of MPN formation in porcine oocytes. In vitro matured porcine oocytes were fertilized in vitro with frozen epididymal sperm. Two different frozen sperm lots were tested in this study, which were different in terms of polyspermy rates. The numbers and the status of penetrated sperm in oocytes were evaluated 10 h after insemination. Under high polyspermy condition, the polyspermy rate was 83.5% with an average mean of 3.5 sperms per penetrated oocyte, whereas the percentage of polyspermy was 65.5% with an average mean of 2.4 sperms per penetrated oocyte under moderate polyspermic condition. Correlation analysis revealed a negative correlation between the number of penetrated sperm and their MPN formation percentage both in the sperm lot of high polyspermy (R = −0.560, p < 0.05) and in the sperm lot of moderate polyspermy (R = −0.405, p < 0.05) which suggests that penetration of excessive spermatozoa disables the oocyte cytoplasm to promote MPN formation.     

Determination of optimal conditions for parthenogenetic activation and subsequent development of rat oocytes in vitro

The present study was undertaken to determine optimal conditions for parthenogenetic activation and subsequent development of rat oocytes. Oocytes from immature Wistar-Imamichi (WI) and Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were activated by electrical stimulation in combination with 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) to assess whether different rat strains display different responses to activation treatment. Since the cleavage rates of activated oocytes were significantly higher in WI than SD strain rats, WI rats were used for the subsequent experiments to determine the effects of post-hCG time, culture duration, different activation protocols (electrical stimulation with 6-DMAP or ionomycin with 6-DMAP) and osmolarity of the activation medium on the activation and subsequent development of WI rat oocytes. For oocytes activated by electrical stimulation combined with 6-DMAP, the percentages of oocytes that were activated and that developed to blastocysts were higher when oocytes were collected at 18-20 h than at any other time points after hCG injection (16, 22-24 h). Culturing for 2-6 h before activation treatment markedly decreased the percentage of activated oocytes that developed to beyond the four-cell stage. There were no differences in the percentages of oocytes with pronuclear formation and subsequent development to the two-cell and blastocyst stages between oocytes that were activated by electrical stimulation or ionomycin, both followed by 6-DMAP treatment. Activation of oocytes by ionomycin and 6-DMAP, both in low osmolarity media (246 mOsM), markedly increased the cleavage rates and percentages of high quality blastocysts (71%). The optimal conditions determined in the present study with simplified activation protocols and high efficiency of activation and subsequent development of WI rat oocytes will be helpful for further research involving nuclear transfer in the rat.     

Effect of fluorescent mercury light irradiation on in vitro and in vivo development of mouse oocytes after parthenogenetic activation or sperm microinjection

The detection of specific cellular components using fluorescent agents such as green fluorescent protein (GFP), red fluorescent protein or Hoechst dyes provides a powerful tool for studying cell biology. However, specimens must be exposed to high-intensity light, which might cause cellular damage. Here, we exposed mouse metaphase stage (M) II oocytes to fluorescent mercury vapor light at three wavelengths (539 nm, 488 nm and 341 nm) to determine the maximum exposure time that would avoid damage. When oocytes were activated parthenogenetically after exposure to these wavelengths for more than 20 min, 5 min or 4 sec, respectively, the percentages of dead oocytes after activation increased, and none of the surviving embryos developed to blastocysts. However, embryos fertilized by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were more tolerant to light damage, even though the quality of blastocysts, judged by cell number and cell allocation to the inner cell mass and trophectoderm measured by immunostaining for Oct4 and Cdx2, was reduced as exposure times increased. Live, healthy offspring were obtained when these exposed embryos were transferred into recipient pseudopregnant females at the 2-cell stage. In addition, MII oocytes collected from GFP-expressing transgenic mice after 5 min of irradiation with 488-nm light were also able to develop to full term following ICSI. Thus, we determined the safe period of exposure to several wavelengths for oocyte manipulation or observation that would permit subsequent development.     

在成熟过程中添加牛血清和猪卵泡液对猪卵母细胞核成熟及体外受精后早期胚胎发育的影响

研究目的在于探讨在成熟过程中添加牛血清和猪卵泡液对猪卵母细胞核成熟、卵丘细胞扩散及体外受精后早期胚胎发育的影响。卵母细胞·卵丘细胞复合体在含FSH和LH的以下处理组的成熟液中成熟培养 2 3～ 2 4h :(1)对照组-改良TCM - 199+0 .1%PVA ;(2 )试验组 1-改良TCM - 199+10 %新生牛血清 ;(3)试验组 2 -改良TCM - 199+10 %猪卵泡液 ,再移至无FSH和LH的不同处理组的成熟液中成熟培养 2 3～ 34h。试验 1中 ,卵母细胞在 4 6～ 4 8h成熟培养后 ,观察卵丘细胞扩散情况 ,并对卵母细胞进行固定和染色 ,鉴定卵母细胞减数分裂情况 :试验 2中 ,对在不同处理组的成熟液中成熟培养 4 6～ 4 8h的卵母细胞进行体外受精 ,再培养 8d。受精后第 2天检查分裂率、第 6天检查桑椹胚 /囊胚率、第 8天检查囊胚率。 4 6～ 4 8h成熟培养后试验组 1和试验组 2的大部分卵母细胞 -卵丘细胞复合体的卵丘细胞完全扩散 ,而对照组的卵丘细胞只有 5 0 %扩散。试验组 1和试验组 2的卵母细胞核成熟率分别为 39.9% (77/ 193)和 4 4 .3% (93/ 2 10 ) ,与对照组的卵母细胞核成熟率 4 8.1% (99/ 2 0 6 )相比没有显著差异 (P <0 .0 5 )。卵母细胞分裂率试验组 1(5 0 .0± 1.8) %和试验组 2 (49.9± 2 .6 ) %与对照组的卵母细胞分裂率 (49.0± 2     

单层细胞共培养对猪去卵丘卵母细胞体外成熟和孤雌发育的影响

本试验比较观察第一极体(The first polar body,PbⅠ)、Oosight imaging system观察和hocchst33342染色法对第2次减数分裂中期(Metaphase Ⅱ,MⅡ)卵母细胞判定结果的相关性分析,并探讨卵巢皮质细胞(porcine ovarian cortex cells,pOCCs)、猪输卵管上皮细胞(porcine oviductal epithelial cells,pOECs)和猪卵丘颗粒细胞(porcine cumulus cells,pCCs)等3种单层细胞体外共培养体系对猪去卵丘卵母细胞(cumulus cells denuded oocytes,Dos)体外成熟(in vitro maturation,IVM)和孤雌发育的影响。结果显示:(1)Oosight imaging system判定卵母细胞成熟的结果与hocchst33342染色法判定的结果有很强相关性(R=0.973,P<0.01,N=90);(2)pOCCs单层细胞共培养体系中猪去卵丘卵母细胞成熟率显著高于pOECs((52.5±0.30)%vs(43.8±2.18)%,P<0.05),且...     

钙离子及山梨醇对猪卵母细胞孤雌激活的影响

探讨电激液中不同Ca2+浓度与不同电脉冲强度相互关系对猪体外成熟卵母细胞孤雌激活的影响;以及山梨醇电激活液在猪孤雌激活中的应用。结果表明,当Ca2+浓度不高时,同时增加电激液Ca2+浓度和电脉冲强度能协同促进孤雌胚胎的卵裂率和囊胚率的提高,Ca2+浓度为0.05和0.1mmol/L时,分别以1.6kV/cm和1.2kV/cm激活,得到的卵裂率为73.75%、74.70%;囊胚率为37.50%、36.83%,显著高于其余各组(P0.05);当Ca2+过高,增加脉冲强度卵母细胞孤雌发育能力反而下降,退化率升高;以山梨醇液进行电激活,在1.6kV/cm时,卵裂率和囊胚率最高,分别为77.23%和34.15%;与甘露醇电激液不同,施加交流电,山梨醇液不能对孤雌胚胎发育起到促进作用;将山梨醇、甘露醇电激液等体积混合,交流脉冲后进行电激活,1.2、1.6kV/cm组卵裂率分别为72.33%和70.03%,囊胚率分别为31.03%和29.60%,虽然略低于甘露醇组(77.07%、36.03%),但优于山梨醇组(69.63%、26.93%),差异不显著(P0.05)。以上结果说明,猪卵母细胞激活所需内流Ca2+浓度存在临界值,临界值内,提高Ca2+浓度或电参数,都能提高卵母细胞的激活效果;超过临界值,效果相反;山梨醇液能够取代甘露醇液用于猪卵细胞的电激活;同时以山梨醇和甘露醇作为电激液的基本成份,完全可以用于猪卵母细胞的电激活或融合。