CONTENTS In vitro embryo production is possible in the horse both clinically and for research applications. Oocytes may be collected from excised ovaries post-mortem, or from either immature follicles or stimulated pre-ovulatory follicles in the live mare. In vitro maturation of immature oocytes typically yields approximately 60% mature oocytes. As standard in vitro fertilization is not yet rep...

The physiological trigger for meiotic resumption in the human oocyte is the surge of luteinizing hormone, but it can also occur spontaneously if oocytes are released from antral follicles and cultured in vitro. The development of novel techniques for the culture of murine oocytes has raised the possibility of growing human oocytes to maturity in vitro. Such a system could open the door to a num...

Meiotic maturation stimulates a change in the translation of stored mRNAs: mRNAs encoding proteins needed for growth of oocytes are translated before meiotic maturation, whereas those encoding proteins required for cleavage are translated after meiotic maturation. Studies of translational regulation during meiotic maturation have been limited by the lack of translationally active cell-free supe...

BACKGROUND Cryopreservation of oocytes, which is an interesting procedure to conserve female gametes, is an essential part of reproductive biotechnology. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of vitrification on nuclear maturation, ultrastructural changes and gene expression of canine oocytes. METHODS Immature oocytes (germinal vesicles) isolated from ovaries of no...

Background: Present study aims to investigate if PMC of ovine oocytes in the presence of cilostamide a phosphodiesterase type 3 (PDE3) inhibitor can improve the shortcomings of conventional IVM system. Materials and Methods: Immature ovine oocytes were retrieved from pre antral follicles of abattoir ovaries by aspiration and after washing in Htcm + %10 FBS were immediately classified in four gr...

Cryopreservation of mature oocytes and embryos has provided numerous benefits in reproductive medicine. Although successful cryopreservation of germinal-vesicle stage (GV) oocytes holds promise for further advances in reproductive biology and clinical embryology fields, reports regarding cryopreservation of immature oocytes are limited. Oocyte survival and maturation rates have improved since v...

Background: Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a multifunctional molecule that mediates several circadian and seasonal processes in animal reproduction. Melatonin and its metabolites are antioxidants and free radical scavengers. Furthermore, melatonin has been shown to act as an indirect antioxidant, and it is able to increase the activity of glutathione synthesis, and many others dire...

background:   objective: in this study, we supplemented a chemically defined medium with different combinations of selenium, calcium and calcium ionophore concentrations to obtain the best rate of human oocytes maturation, survival, and fertilization.   materials and methods: as an experimental study, three combinations of [selenium (5 μg/ml), calcium (5 μg/ml) and calcium ionophore (1 μg/ml)],...

OBJECTIVES In vitro maturation technique (IVM) is shown to have an effect on full maturation of immature oocytes and the subsequent embryo development. Embryonic genome activation (EGA) is considered as a crucial and the first process after fertilization. EGA failure leads to embryo arrest and possible implantation failure. This study aimed to determine the role of IVM in EGA-related genes expr...