The elaboration of a quality oocyte is integrally linked to the correct developmental progression of cumulus cell phenotype. In humans and nonhuman primates, oocyte quality is diminished with in vitro maturation. To determine the changes in gene expression in rhesus monkey cumulus cells (CC) that occur during the final day prior to oocyte maturation and how these changes differ between in vitro...

The mechanisms whereby the high variation in numbers of morphologically healthy oocytes and follicles in ovaries (ovarian reserve) may have an impact onovarian function, oocyte quality, and fertility are poorly understood. The objective was to determine whether previously validated biomarkers for follicular differentiation and function, as well as oocyte quality differed between cattle with low...

Adiponectin is one of the most important, recently discovered adipocytokines that acts at various levels to control male and female fertility through central effects on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis or through peripheral effects on the ovary, uterus, and embryo. We studied simultaneous changes in the gene expression pattern of adiponectin and adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2...

Keeping the intact germinal vesicle (GV) is essential for maintaining the capacity of mammals including human. It is maintained by very complex procedures along with folliculogenesis and is a critical step for getting competent oocyte. So far, a few mechanisms involved in folliculogenesis are known but GV arrest mechanisms are largely unrevealed. Cyclic AMP, a adenosine derived substance, have ...

In mammals, oocytes develop inside the ovarian follicles; this process is strongly supported by the surrounding follicular environment consisting of cumulus, granulosa and theca cells, and follicular fluid. In the antral follicle, the final stages of oogenesis require large amounts of energy that is produced by follicular cells from substrates including glucose, amino acids and fatty acids (FAs...

BACKGROUND Supplementation of bovine oocyte-cumulus complexes during in vitro maturation (IVM) with 1 μM of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), C22:6 n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, was reported to improve in vitro embryo development. The objective of this paper was to decipher the mechanisms of DHA action. RESULTS Transcriptomic analysis of 1 μM DHA-treated and control cumulus cells after 4 h IVM sh...

Precise coordination between the development of the oocyte and the ovarian follicle is essential in order to provide an egg that is fully competent to undergo fertilisation and embryo development. A key component of this co-ordination is changing patterns of gene expression and protein synthesis by various populations of granulosa cells throughout follicular development. There are two populatio...

BACKGROUND Oocyte maturation and preimplantation embryo development are controlled by array of genes that are post-transcriptionally regulated by microRNAs. With respect to this, previously, we identified altered expression of microRNA-130b (miR-130b) during oocyte maturation. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of miR-130b in bovine granulosa and cumulus cell function, oocyte maturation and...

The mammalian cumulus-oocyte complex (COCs) promotes oocyte growth and development during long stages of folliculogenesis and oogenesis. Before ovulation, the follicle is formed by a variety of fully differentiated cell populations; cumulus cells (CCs) that tightly surround the female gamete, granulosa cells (GCs) and theca cells (TCs) which build the internal and external mass of the follicula...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been improved to regulate oocyte development in a cell- or stage-specific manner. In this study, we aimed to clarify microRNA-224's (miR-224) role in cumulus cells (CCs), to find out whether a change level of miR-224 in CCs could influence the maturation of oocyte. We found that overexpression of miR-224 of CCs led to the impairment of cell expansion, along with a decrea...