The present study has evaluated the association of growth differentiation factor9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein15 (BMP15) mRNA expression in cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) of buffalo ovary during in vitro maturation (IVM). GDF9 and BMP15 are expressed specifically in mammalian oocytes and also participate in cumulus-oocyte crosstalk. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qR...

Gap junctional coupling among cumulus cells is important for oogenesis since its deficiency in mice leads to impaired folliculogenesis. Multiple connexins (Cx), the subunits of gap junction channels, have been found within ovarian follicles in several species but little is known about the connexins in human follicles. The aim of this study was to determine which connexins contribute to gap junc...

The overall objective of this work was to describe whether supplementing fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) during in vitro maturation (IVM) affects cumulus and oocyte maturation and subsequent embryonic development. Supplementing 0.5, 5 or 50 ng/ml FGF2 to cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) increased the percentage of oocytes with extruded polar bodies after IVM. Supplementing FGF2 during COC matu...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to investigate whether the steroid hormone(s) secreted from cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) is a prerequisite for bovine oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion using aminoglutethimide (AGT), a P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage inhibitor. METHODS In experiment 1, COCs were cultured in maturation medium with various concentrations of AGT for 22 h t...

Studies aimed at the influence of smoking on reproductive functions have found out fertility disorders in smokers occurring at any stage of reproductive processes. In our experiments the role of cadmium, nicotine and anabasine was investigated in the expansion of oocyte-cumulus complexes (OCC) isolated from large antral porcine follicles. Suppression of FSH-induced cumulus expansion and signifi...

Assisted reproductive technologies in all mammals are critically dependent on the quality of the oocytes used to produce embryos. For reasons not fully clear, oocytes matured in vitro tend to be much less competent to become fertilized, advance to the blastocyst stage, and give rise to live young than their in vivo-produced counterparts, particularly if they are derived from immature females. H...

Organizers play important roles during the embryonic development of many animals. The most famous example is the Spemann organizer that sets up embryonic axes in amphibian embryos. In spiders, a group of BMP secreting mesenchymal cells (the cumulus) functions as an organizer of the dorsoventral axis. Similar to experiments performed with the Spemann organizer, transplantation of the cumulus is ...

New protein synthesis is essential in sheep oocytes for the progression of the meiotic cycle to metaphase. Inhibition of transcription by alpha-amanitin, a specific inhibitor of RNA polymerase II, arrests meiosis in the G2 phase in cumulus enclosed oocytes but denuded oocytes progress to M-phase. Denuded oocytes injected with alpha-amanitin also undergo maturation. Cumulus-enclosed and denuded ...

Background: The effects of cumulus cells and the effectiveness of a PDE3 specific inhibitor (Cilostamide) in comparison with an adenylate cyclase activator (Forskolin) on the maturation rate and developmental competence of mouse germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes were evaluated Materials and Methods: Germinal vesicles (GV) oocytes of PMSG-primed mice were divided into cumulus denuded oocytes (CDOs) ...

UCP2 plays a physiological role by regulating mitochondrial biogenesis, maintaining energy balance, ROS elimination, and regulating cellular autophagy in numerous tissues. But the exact roles of UCP2 in cumulus cells are still not clear. Genipin, a special UCP2 inhibitor, was added into the cultural medium to explore the roles of UCP2 in human cumulus cells. There were no significant difference...