Effects of follicular fluid exosomes on in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes

Abstract

Exosomes are related to effective communication between cells. In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of porcine follicular fluid exosomes (FF-Exo) on cumulus expansion, oocyte mitochondrial membrane potential, and maturation in in vitro culture. We used different concentrations of FF-Exo (Exo-0, Exo-1, Exo-10, Exo-20, and Exo-40) and added them to an oocyte maturation medium. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and western blot (WB) showed that the isolated samples were exosomes. Immunofluorescence showed that exosomes could be taken up by cumulus cells. Compared with the Exo-0 group, there was no significant difference in oocyte maturation rate in the Exo-1 group (p > 0.05), while the Exo-10 group (p < 0.05), Exo-20 group (p < 0.01) and Exo-40 group (p < 0.01) significantly increased. The maturation rate of the Exo-20 and Exo-40 groups was the highest, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, different concentrations of treatment could not effectively induce cumulus expansion and the results of JC1 showed that it had no significant effect on mitochondrial membrane potential (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the results suggest that porcine FF-Exo are involved in oocyte nuclear maturation.