Abstract
The present study was designed to investigate whether calcium ionophore-induced activation and apoptosis are associated with the generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in rat eggs cultured in vitro. Culture of metaphase-II (M-II) arrested eggs in Ca2+/Mg2+-deficient medium did not induce egg activation, while a second polar body was observed in 20% of eggs when cultured in Ca2+/Mg2+-supplemented medium. In Ca2+/Mg2+-deficient medium, lower concentrations of calcium ionophore (0.2,0.4 and 0.8 µm) not only induced egg activation in a dose-dependent manner but also generation of intracellular H2O2 (84.40±0.50 ng/egg) when compared to control eggs (80.46±1.34 ng/egg). The higher concentration of calcium ionophore (1.6 µm) induced apoptosis and pronounced generation of intracellular H2O2 (92.43±0.93 ng/egg) in treated eggs. Conversely, cell-permeant antioxidant such as 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (BHA) reduced intracellular H2O2 level (81.20±1.42 ng/egg) and protected against calcium ionophore-induced morphological changes characteristics of egg activation and apoptosis. These results clearly suggest that calcium ionophore-induced activation and apoptosis are associated with the generation of intracellular H2O2 in rat eggs.
Published Version
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