Reproduction Abstracts

Upon sperm entry within the oocyte, pulsatile calcium release occurs, facilitating activation of the oocyte. While calcium signalling has been characterised in mouse oocytes, patterns within the whole cumulus oocyte complex (COC) and in larger mammals such as cow, are yet to be determined. The aim of this study was to investigate calcium changes in media, cumulus and oocytes during in vitro fertilisation in cattle oocytes.Cattle COCs were insemi...

Early embryo development is an exquisitely sensitive period of the developmental continuum, profoundly influencing neonatal and adult health. Maternal and paternal hyperglycaemia is associated with long-term health complications including increased risk of miscarriage, altered birth weight, and increased incidence of diabetes and metabolic syndrome in adult life. The mechanisms underlying this intergenerational transmission of disease remain unclear. New evidence has implicate...

Research conducted in recent years has led to great advances in our understanding of the participation of cGMP in meiosis. It is clear that increased intra-oocyte concentrations of cGMP inhibit meiosis in mouse models. Like cAMP, cGMP may also have a meiotic stimulatory function, possibly via cGMP/PKG. Abattoir derived gilt porcine ovaries were collected, antral follicles aspirated and oocytes collected and cultured in TCM-199+3 mg/ml BSA. Natriuretic peptide receptor 2 (N...

Introduction: Oocytes acquire developmental competence with progressive folliculogenesis. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) from small antral follicles are commonly used in IVM but have inherent low competence and are poorly responsive to amphiregulin (AREG) which normally mediates oocyte maturation. Here we examined effects of bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9), and dbcAMP on the maturation and subsequent developmental competence ...

Introduction: Preventing spontaneous maturation in vitro by adding cAMP regulators is thought to maintain the communication between oocyte and cumulus cells via gap junction communication (GJC), hence promoting developmental competence. We aimed to assess the integrity of gap junction maintenance in cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) after pre-maturation with IBMX and Forskolin (FSK) and the influence on bovine embryo development.Materials...