Abstract
Caffeine, as an oocyte aging inhibitor, was used in many different species to control or delay oocyte aging. However, the safety of caffeine and developmental competence of aged oocytes inhibited by caffeine has not been studied systematically. So we detected the spindle morphology, distribution of cortical granules, zona pellucida hardening and pronucleus formation to assess oocyte quality of caffeine treated oocytes. We found that aged oocytes treated by caffeine maintained weak susceptibility to activating stimuli and regained normal competent after aged further 6 hr. Caffeine maintained the spindle morphology, changed cortical granules distribution of aged oocytes and could not prevent zona pellucida hardening. Furthermore, caffeine increased pronucleus formation of aged oocytes and decreased fragmentation after fertilization. These results suggested that caffeine could maintain the quality of aged oocytes safely in mouse.
Highlights
The quality of oocyte influences the embryo’s developmental potential after fertilization [1]
It was shown that all cumulus cells were attached in fresh cumulusoocyte complexes (COCs) (Figure 1A) and most cumulus cells were attached in COCs treated by caffeine (Figure 1B)
We ruled out the possibility that the separation of cumulus cells from oocytes contributed to the aging inhibition by caffeine
Summary
The quality of oocyte influences the embryo’s developmental potential after fertilization [1]. Fertilized oocytes from B6D2F1 and ICR mouse lost their full-term developmental potential by 14 hr and 18 hr after ovulation [3]. An intact meiotic spindle is critically important for accurate distribution of chromosomes to the dividing blastomeres, ensuring accurate embryo development. The spindles in aged oocytes became smaller and could be bi- or multipolar, which would block chromosome segregation and result in abnormalities [2]. The most important change during oocyte aging was the decrease of maturation-promoting factor (MPF) activity [5] and Kikuchi et al (2000) found that caffeine could maintain higher activity of MPF and inhibit oocyte aging in pig [8, 9]. Evaluation of developmental competence of aged oocytes inhibited by caffeine was not completed systematically
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