Isocupressic acid (ICA) [15-hydroxylabda-8 (17), 13E-dien-19-oic acid], a labdane diterpene acid, isolated from ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), common juniper (Juniperus communis) and Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), induces abortion in pregnant cows when ingested primarily during the last trimester. The objective of this study was to investigate the e...

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...

Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental contaminants because of their use in plastics and other common consumer products. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most abundant phthalate and it impairs fertility by acting as an endocrine disruptor. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of in vitro acute exposure to DEHP on oocyte maturation, energy and oxidative status in the...

Background: Melatonin has been recognised as effective reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger. antioxident melatonin effects has been expressed in management of cancer, alzheimer, diabet diseases. This study designed to determine the effect of melatonin on in vitro oocytes maturation and fertilization and cleavage and blastocyst development rate of mouse. Materials and Methods: Cumulus - oocyt...

Background: The developmental competence of oocytes matured in vitro (IVM) is yet far below than in vivo counterparts. Recent studies suggest that the asynchrony between nuclear/cytoplasmic maturation and the initial low/heterogeneous quality of oocytes are the most important factors affecting IVM success. We investigated whether selection of growing oocytes (based on their glucose 6- phosphate...

Background: In vitro maturation can have deleterious effects on spindle formation and proper chromosome alignment in human oocytes and can be profoundly affected by culture conditions. This study compared the spindle presence and location with the maturation rate Abstracts of the 12th Royan International Congress on Reproductive Biomedicine 3 1 International Journal of Fertility & Sterility (IJ...

BACKGROUND Oocyte maturation and competence to development depends on its close relationship with cumulus cells (CCs). However, the maturation conditions of human cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) might affect gene expression in both oocyte and CCs. We thus compared the transcriptome profiles of CCs isolated from in vivo and in vitro matured COCs at different nuclear maturation stages. METHODS ...