The physiological trigger for meiotic resumption in the human oocyte is the surge of luteinizing hormone, but it can also occur spontaneously if oocytes are released from antral follicles and cultured in vitro. The development of novel techniques for the culture of murine oocytes has raised the possibility of growing human oocytes to maturity in vitro. Such a system could open the door to a num...

Background: The aim of the current study was to assess the mRNA levels of two mitochondria-related genes, including nuclear-encoded NRF1 (nuclear respiratory factor 1), mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), and mitochondrial-encoded cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (MT-CO1) genes in various stages of the human oocyte maturation. Methods: Oocytes were obtained from nine infertile women wit...

We studied the effect of different storage conditions of porcine ovaries (time, temperature) on the characteristics of the follicular fluid, immature oocyte quality, meiotic competence and in vitro fertilization of oocytes. Ovaries were stored for 2, 4 or 6 h at 3 different temperatures (15 ̊C, 25 ̊C or 35 ̊C). As the storage time increased, pH and glucose concentration of the follicular fluid, pe...

Glutathione (GSH) is thought to play critical roles in oocyte function including spindle maintenance and provision of reducing power needed to initiate sperm chromatin decondensation. Previous observations that GSH concentrations are higher in mature than immature oocytes and decline after fertilization, suggest that GSH synthesis may be associated with cell cycle events. To explore this possib...

We previously showed that the cell-permeant antioxidant 2(3)- tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (BHA) inhibited germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in oocyte-cumulus complexes (OCC) of the rat. The objective of the present studies was to assess other antioxidants and whether such inhibition was reversible. Spontaneous GVBD in OCC incubated for 2 h was significantly inhibited ( P < 0.005) by nordihydrog...

During oocyte maturation, eggs acquire the ability to generate specialized Ca(2+) signals in response to sperm entry. Such Ca(2+) signals are crucial for egg activation and the initiation of embryonic development. We examined the regulation during Xenopus oocyte maturation of store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE), an important Ca(2+) influx pathway in oocytes and other nonexcitable cells. We have ...

BACKGROUND Ras dexamethasone-induced protein (RASD1) is a member of Ras superfamily of small GTPases. RASD1 regulates various signaling pathways involved in iron homeostasis, growth hormone secretion, and circadian rhythm. However, RASD1 function in oocyte remains unknown. METHODS Using immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and quantitative real-time RT-PCR, RASD1 expression in mouse ovar...

Examination of factors regulating oocyte chromatin remodeling is crucial to circumvent embryonic aneuploidy and resulting defects. Aurora kinases (AURK) are involved in regulation of chromatin remodeling, however, little attention has been paid to AURKs in regard to oocyte maturation. Meiotically incompetent mouse oocytes contain transcripts for all three Aurk isoforms: A, B and C. Upon achievi...

Mitochondria (mt) have been reported to be closely related to the maturation of mammalian oocytes, but their function in oocyte maturation has not been elucidated. In this study, we examined the kinetics of mt and chromatin configuration during in vitro maturation of mouse oocytes to clarify the relationship between oocyte maturation and mitochondrial distribution morphologically. Oocytes were ...

Nuclear reprogramming of differentiated cells can be induced by oocyte factors. Despite numerous attempts, these factors and mechanisms responsible for successful reprogramming remain elusive. Here, we identify one such factor, necessary for the development of nuclear transfer embryos, using porcine oocyte extracts in which some reprogramming events are recapitulated. After incubating somatic n...