Criollo high Andean cattle are of family economic importance for rural dwellers and contribute to food security. The objective this study was evaluate the quantity, quality, nuclear status ovarian oocytes according body condition cows. Groups cows were formed (1=emaciated, 5=obese): low (≤1.5), moderate (2 2.5) (≥3). Ovaries (n=212) obtained from slaughterhouse. Oocytes recovered by follicular ...

OBJECTIVES It was aimed to investigate the effects of different doses of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and activin A on the growth and maturation of preantral mouse follicles during the in vitro culture. METHODS Preantral follicles (90-100 microm in diameter) were harvested from 6-8 week-old Syrian mice and cultured in TCM199 culture medium for 6 days to see the effect of FSH and Activin...

In mammals, a finite population of oocytes is generated during embryogenesis, and proper oocyte meiotic divisions are crucial for fertility. Sperm-associated antigen 1 (SPAG-1) has been implicated in infertility and tumorigenesis; however, its relevance in cell cycle programs remains rudimentary. Here we explore a novel role of SPAG-1 during oocyte meiotic progression. SPAG-1 associated with me...

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation-element-binding protein (CPEB) is a well-characterized and important regulator of translation of maternal mRNA in early development in organisms ranging from worms, flies and clams to frogs and mice. Previous studies provided evidence that clam and Xenopus CPEB are hyperphosphorylated at germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) by cdc2 kinase, and degraded shortly after. To...

BACKGROUND Activin and inhibin are glycoproteins structurally related to the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily. These peptides were first described as factors that regulate the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) at the pituitary level. The possible role of inhibin and activin, at the ovarian level, in mediating the stimulatory actions of a Fundulus pituitary extract (FPE) and 17alpha,...

The protein kinase p90(Rsk) has previously been implicated as a key target of the MAPK pathway during M phase of meiosis II in Xenopus oocytes. To determine whether Rsk is a mediator of MAPK for stimulation of the G(2)/M transition early in meiosis I, we sought to generate a form of Rsk that would be constitutively active in resting, G(2) phase oocytes. Initial studies revealed that an N-termin...

Gonad-stimulating substance-like molecule (GSSL) was isolated from the radial nerve of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus (Aj-GSSL), and its partial DNA and protein sequences were characterized. The smaller part of the molecule that also retains GSSL activity was estimated. Radial nerve extract (RNE) induced germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) at 3 mg/ml in 85% of immature ovarian oocytes. ...

Butyrolactone I (BL I), a potent and specific inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases, was shown to block germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in porcine oocytes in a concentration-dependent manner. GVBD was almost totally inhibited over the course of 44 h of culture when 100 pM BL I was included in TCM 199 containing either 3 mg/ml BSA or 5 % fetal calf serum (FCS). In contrast, 50 pM BL 1 was full...

The objective of this study was to investigate the possible effect of demecolcine, a microtubule-disrupting reagent, on induced enucleation (IE) of sheep meiotically maturing oocytes. Immunofluorescent staining with anti-tubulin antibodies was used to examine the spindle status of the oocytes. When the oocytes with intact germinal vesicles (GV) were cultured in the medium containing various con...