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...

Polyspermy is a common phenomenon in the pig. Extensive information has become available from in vitro studies on not only the quality of oocytes but also the quality of spermatozoa. However, little information is available on the relative penetration rates of fresh and frozen spermatozoa from the same ejaculate from boars of different breeds. The present results, based on a total of 15 boars o...

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are powerful tools for basic and translational research, as well as regenerative medicine. In routine human in vitro fertilization (IVF) practices, cumulus cells (CCs) are discarded, representing a potential source of biological materials for regenerative medicine. In this study, we derived patient-specific iPSCs using CCs from human infertility clinics fo...

background: it is important to protect oocytes and embryos from oxidative stress in the culture medium. melatonin has been shown to be a direct free radical scavenger. objective: effect of melatonin during in vitro oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryo development of mouse oocytes was evaluated. materials and methods: oocytes from supper-ovulated mouse were divided to two groups: cumulus ...

Recently, the quantity of cathepsin transcripts in cumulus cells was found to be associated with low-developmental competence of bovine oocytes. In the present study, we investigated (1) the relation between cathepsin B activity and the quality of in vitro-matured cumulus-oocyte complexes (IVM COCs) and denuded oocytes and (2) the effect of a cathepsin B inhibitor (E-64) on embryo development a...

The ovulatory process is tightly regulated by endocrine as well as paracrine factors. In the periovulatory period, extensive remodeling of the follicle wall occurs to allow the extrusion of the oocyte and accompanying cumulus granulosa cells. Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) and bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15) are secreted members of the TGFbeta superfamily that are expressed begi...

A morphological classification of the immature cumulus-oocyte complex (COC), which grossly resembled the atresia grade of its follicle source, was used in bovine oocytes to determine 1) the developmental potential by either in vitro fertilization or parthenogenetic activation, 2) the calcium current activity by whole-cell voltage clamp technique, and 3) the intracytoplasmic calcium stores by mi...

The role of gossypol in the cumulus expansion of oocyte-cumulus complexes (OCC) isolated from large antral porcine follicles was investigated. Marked suppression of cumulus expansion stimulated with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) was observed in the presence of different concentrations of gossypol. Comparable inhibitory effects were obtained in the presence...

PTX3 is a prototypic long pentraxin that plays a non-redundant role in innate immunity against selected pathogens and in female fertility. Here, we report that the infertility of Ptx3(-/-) mice is associated with severe abnormalities of the cumulus oophorus and failure of in vivo, but not in vitro, oocyte fertilization. PTX3 is produced by mouse cumulus cells during cumulus expansion and locali...