BACKGROUND Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder in women. The developmental competence of oocytes and embryos in PCOS patients is reduced to a certain extent (comparing to non-PCOS patients, the high quality embryo rate was decreased by 16% from the data of our centre) during the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. Cross-talk between the oocyte and cum...

In the normal human menstrual cycle, the final phase of ovarian folliculogenesis leading upto the pre-ovulatory stage is gonadotropin dependent. Luteinising hormone (LH) acts synergistically with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to achieve follicular steroidogenesis, luteinisation and ovulation. It therefore follows that the maturational process of the oocyte contained within the follicle and...

Mammalian ovary is a dynamic organ that is responsible for the production of competent oocytes required for successful fertilization and early embryonic development [1,2]. The meiotic competency folliocular is achieved within the follicular environment during final stages of folliculogenesis [3-7]. The achievement of meiotic competency starts in diplotene arrested oocytes, possessing germinal v...

Currently, there is no uniformly accepted definition of decreased ovarian reserve (DOR), as the term may refer to three related but distinctly different outcomes: oocyte quality, oocyte quantity, or reproductive potential. Available evidence concerning the performance of ovarian reserve tests is limited by small sample sizes, heterogeneity among study design, analyses and outcomes, and the lack...

Increasing infertility is one of the most serious health problems today. Over past few years, we have had opportunity to follow progress technologies focused on production embryos in vitro (i.e., fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection, genetic engineering, or somatic cell nuclear transfer. Oocyte maturation important processes vitro. Despite recent this field, developmental competen...

Determining oocyte quality is crucial for successful fertilization and embryonic development, there a serious correlation between live birth rates quality. Parameters such as the regular/irregular formation of cumulus cell layer around oocyte, number layers homogeneity appearance ooplasm are used to determine oocytes be in vitro (IVF) intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) methods.
 In th...

Several discoveries have been described recently (5-10 years) about the biology of ovarian follicles (oocyte, cumulus cells and granulosa cells), including new aspects of cellular communication, the control of oocyte maturation and the acquisition of oocyte competence for fertilization and further embryo development. These advances are nourishing assisted reproduction techniques (ART) with new ...

Mammalian reproduction hinges upon the timely ovulation of a fully differentiated oocyte. This event is the culmination of a complex and dynamic developmental relationship between the oocyte and the antral follicle housing it; the antral follicle constitutes a specialized microenvironment or niche, uniquely suited to the needs of the oocyte as it approaches ovulation. During this time, the oocy...

Fatty acid oxidation is an important energy source for the oocyte; however, little is known about how this metabolic pathway is regulated in cumulus-oocyte complexes. Analysis of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation showed that many are regulated by the luteinizing hormone surge during in vivo maturation, including acyl-CoA synthetases, carnitine transporters, acyl-CoA dehydrogenases and acet...