The serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade E, member 2 (SERPINE2) inhibits urokinase-type plasminogen activator (PLAU) and tissue-type plasminogen activator. Higher SERPINE2 expression levels were detected in cumulus cells of human immature oocytes than in those of mature oocytes. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether high SERPINE2 levels in cumulus cells are associated with oocyte imm...

The present study examined the kinetics of glutathione (GSH) concentration during maturation and after fertilization in pig oocytes and its relevance to the ability of pig oocytes to form a male pronucleus after in vitro fertilization. The GSH concentration was significantly higher in pig oocytes matured in Waymouth medium than in pig oocytes matured in either modified (m) TCM-199 or mTLP media...

This study investigated the effect of different harvesting techniques on the recovery rate and quality of bovine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) and their subsequent developmental competence including in vitro maturation, fertilization and blastocyst formation. The COCs were retrieved from slaughter ovaries using aspiration, slicing, or aspiration followed by slicing. The COCs were examined mic...

objective: the purpose of the present study was to verify the ultrastructural characteristics of cultured mouse preantral follicles from fresh and vitrified –warmed ovarian tissues. materials and methods: the ovaries of 14-day-old mice (n = 5) were vitrified using a mixture of ethylene glycol, ficoll 70 and sucrose. the preantral follicles were isolated and cultured in α-minimum essential mediu...

4 Introduction 4 A. Zebrafish as a Model Organism for Developmental Biology 4 B. Processes of Oocyte Maturation in Zebrafish 5 C. Wnt Signaling Pathways and Their Possible Role in Oocyte Maturation 11 D. Preliminary Findings and Objectives of This Research Project 15 Materials and Methods 16 A. Overview 16 B. Oocyte Harvesting and in vitro Maturation 17 C. RNA Extraction and cDNA Conversion 18 ...

Since the pig is not only an important farm animal, but also a model animal for biomedical applications, the development of reproductive technologies in this species has been very important. In vitro oocyte maturation and fertilization (IVM-IVF) are basic techniques for a number of oocyte- or embryo-related technologies. The practical aspects for pig oocyte IVM-IVF have been reviewed, while the...

Increased glucocorticoid levels, due to medical therapy or stress-related, may affect reproduction via the hypothalamus-pituitary-axis or directly at the oocyte level. We examined the effects of natural (corticosterone) or synthetic (dexamethasone) glucocorticoids on mouse oocyte maturation and underlying changes in extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation patterns. Fertiliza...

The developmental competence of oocytes during in vitro maturation (IVM) is compromised due to asynchronous nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation. To improve IVM efficiency, a pre-maturation culture or two-step maturation strategy has been established, involving meiosis arrest induced by pharmacological agents to provide oocytes with sufficient time to synchronize the maturation of the nucleus and...