head of laboratory L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry Podolsk, Moskva, Russia
The oocyte quality acquired during in vitro maturation (IVM) are the main limitative factors affecting the embryo production. The aim of the present research was to study effects of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) during IVM of bovine oocytes on their developmental potential after parthenogenetic activation. Bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC; n = 1176) were cultured for 22h in either standard maturation medium (TCM-199 supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS), 0.2 mM sodium pyruvate, 10 μg/ml FSH and 10 μg/ml LH; Control) or maturation medium supplemented with different concentrations (5-160 ng/ml) of FGF2 and IGF1. After IVM, matured oocytes activated by sequential treatment with ionomycin followed by DMAP and cyclohexamide and then cultured up to the blastocyst stage. The obtained blastocysts were fixed, and the total cell number and the level of apoptosis were determined using DAPI and TUNEL staining. The data from 4 replicates (77-91 oocytes per treatment) were analyzed by ANOVA. Cleavage rates of activated oocytes did not differ between groups and ranged from 63.7 to 68.1%. The addition of 10, 20 and 40 ng/ml of FGF2 to the IVM medium led to an increase in the yield of blastocysts [from 19.6±1.8% (Control) to 35.2±3.4, 29.8±1.9 and 31.1±2.1%, respectively (P < 0.05)] and in the total cell number in embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the blastocyst yield and the total cell number in blastocysts in the IGF1-treated groups were similar to that in the control group. No effects of both growth factors on the proportion of apoptotic nuclei in blastocysts (5.3-7.1%) were observed. Thus, FGF2 (but not IGF1) are able to maintain competence for parthenogenetic development of bovine COC during their maturation in vitro. Supported by RFBR (18-29-07089) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia.