Energy Status Characteristics of Porcine Oocytes During In Vitro Maturation is Influenced by Their Meiotic Competence.

The characteristics of energy status in porcine oocytes as related to their meiotic competence and in vitro maturation were studied. Cycling pubertal gilts in the early luteal to early follicular phases of the ovarian cycle were used as oocyte donors. The oocytes recovered from medium (MF) or small follicles (SF) were considered meiotically more or less competent, respectively. A half of oocytes from each category was matured by the standard protocol. The oocytes were examined before or after maturation by confocal microscopy, a bioluminescent cell assay and Western blotting. Four experiments, each in triplicate, were performed to assess both SF and MF oocytes in terms of metabolic units formed by mitochondria and lipids, ATP and lipid consumption and lipid droplets with adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) expression. The proportion of oocytes with metabolic units, the mean ATP content and the number of lipid droplets per oocyte, and the relative number of lipid droplets with ADRP expression were significantly higher in the MF compared to SF oocytes before maturation. On the other hand, after maturation, there was an increase in the proportion of oocytes with metabolic units and the relative number of lipid droplets with ADRP expression in the SF compared to MF oocytes. In conclusion, specific differences in energy characteristics between porcine oocytes with different meiotic competence were found. Meiotically more competent oocytes are more advanced in terms of energy reserves before maturation, while meiotically less competent oocytes are more active in replenishing energy stores during maturation.

Mitochondrial patterns in bovine oocytes with different meiotic competence related to their in vitro maturation.

This study was designed to specify chromatin and mitochondrial patterns in bovine oocytes with different meiotic competence in relation to maturation progress, resumption of meiosis, MII onset and completion of maturation. Oocytes with greater or lesser meiotic competence, recovered separately from medium (MF) and small follicles (SF), were categorized according to morphology. Four oocyte categories, healthy and light-atretic MF and healthy and light-atretic SF oocytes were matured and collected at 0, 3, 7, 16 and 24 h of maturation. Specific differences in terms of chromatin and mitochondrial patterns were found among the maturing oocyte categories. Resumption of meiosis was accelerated in light-atretic oocytes, as compared with healthy oocytes, regardless of their meiotic competence. More competent oocytes activated mitochondria twice during maturation, before resumption of meiosis and before completion of maturation, while less competent oocytes did it only once, before completion of maturation. Changes in mitochondrial activity differed in light-atretic compared with healthy in both more and less competent oocytes. Healthy meiotically more competent oocytes formed clusters and produced ATP for the whole time of maturation until its completion, while light-atretic more competent oocytes and healthy less competent oocytes reduced these activities earlier, at MII onset. Contrary to these oocyte categories, light-atretic less competent oocytes increased cluster formation significantly before resumption of meiosis. It can be concluded that bovine oocytes with different meiotic competence and health differed in the kinetics of mitochondrial patterns during maturation.