Combination effects of epidermal growth factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor on the in vitro developmental potential of porcine oocytes
Abstract
The developmental potential of in vitro matured porcine oocytes is still lower than that of oocytes matured and fertilized in vivo. Major problems that account for the lower efficiency of in vitro production include the improper nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of oocytes. With the aim of improving this issue, the single and combined effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on oocyte developmental competence were investigated. Porcine cumulus-oocyte cell complexes (COCs) were matured in serum-free medium supplemented with EGF (0, 10 or 50 ng/ml) and/or GDNF (0, 10 or 50 ng/ml) for 44 h, and subsequently subjected to fertilization and cultured for 7 days in vitro. The in vitro-formed blastocysts derived from selected growth factor groups (i.e. EGF = 50 ng/ml; GDNF = 50 ng/ml; EGF = 50 ng/ml + GDNF = 50 ng/ml) were also used for mRNA expression analysis, or were subjected to Hoechst staining. The results showed that the addition of EGF and/or GDNF during oocyte maturation dose dependently enhanced oocyte developmental competence. Compared with the embryos obtained from control or single growth factor-treated oocytes, treatment with the combination of EGF and GDNF was shown ...Continue Reading
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