Background: This study was conducted to evaluate fibroblast co-culture and Activin A on in vitro maturation and fertilization of mouse preantral follicles. Methods: The ovaries from 12-14-day-old mice were dissected, and 120-150 μm preantral follicles were cultured individually in α-MEM as based medium for 12 days. A total number of 456 follicles were cultured in four conditions: (i) base mediu...

A 2-step culture system was designed and tested for the in vitro maturation efficiency of oocytes from pre-puberty preantral follicles of FVB/N inbred mice. The following modifications were made: 1) The concentration of ITS was reduced by half in the basal MIF medium to minimize uncoordinated growth between oocyte and GC cells; 2) Heterogeneous preantral follicles were cultured in groups of 3 5...

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase and mTOR signaling is important in regulating cell growth and proliferation. Recent studies using oocyte- and granulosa cell-specific deletion of mTOR inhibitor genes TSC1 or TSC2 demonstrated the important role of mTOR signaling in the promotion of ovarian follicle development. We now report that treatment of ovaries from juveni...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of GDF-9, IGF-I, and GH alone or combined on preantral follicle survival, activation and development after 1 and 7 days of in vitro culture. Either fresh (non-cultured) or cultured ovarian tissue was processed for histological and fluorescence analysis. For all media tested, the percent of normal follicles was greater when compared to min...

Initiation of folliculogenesis through the induction of primordial follicle development in the ovary has an important role in determining the fertility and reproductive fitness of most mammalian species. The factors that control this critical process are largely unknown. The hypothesis tested in the current study was that kit-ligand/stem cell factor (KL) promotes the initiation and progression ...

Introduction: In vitro environments expose developing oocytes to excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are not normally produced in vivo. Melatonin acts as an indirect antioxidant and is a powerful direct free radical scavenger and direct responses to melatonin in the gonads. This study aims to investigate the influence of different doses of melatonin on follicle development and oogenesis ...

The dimeric glycoprotein anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a member of the transforming growth factor-b superfamily of growth and differentiation factors. During male fetal sex differentiation, AMH is produced by Sertoli cells and induces degeneration of the Müllerian ducts, which form the anlagen of part of the internal female genital system. In females, AMH is produced by the ovary, but only po...

Regulation of mammalian follicular development is tightly regulated by both cell death and survival signals, including endocrine (e.g. gonadotropin) and intra-ovarian regulators (e.g. Nodal and GDF9). The destiny of the individual follicle (growth/ovulation or atresia) is dependent on a delicate balance in the expression and action of factors promoting follicular cell proliferation, growth and ...