background: mammalian oocytes are exposed to a mixture of many different growth factors and cytokines which provides an optimized microenvironment for oocyte maturation. in the lack of this natural microenvironment in vitro the quality of oocyte and embryos appears to be suboptimal. objective: this study was undertaken to investigate the effects of egf and lif on in vitro maturation fertilizati...

Gangliosides are key lipid molecules required for the regulation of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, and cell signaling, including signaling of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has long been considered a potential regulator of meiotic and cytoplasmic maturation in mammalian oocytes. However, there is no report on the direct effect ...

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of cell status of BOEC on development of bovine IVM/IVF embryos and gene expression in BOEC before or after culturing of embryos. The developmental rates beyond morula stage in the BOEC co-culture group was significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.05). In particular, blastocyst production in the BOEC co-culture group (28.3%) ...

In this study, we improved the protocol for isolating cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) from the outbred deer mice by using only one hormone (instead of the widely used combination of two hormones) with reduced dose. Moreover, we identified that significantly more metaphase II (MII) oocytes could be obtained by supplementing epidermal growth factor (EGF) and leukemia inhibition factor (LIF) into ...

background: effect of different doses of cysteamine on rate of in vitro maturation (ivm ) , in vitro fertilization (ivf ) and glutathione (gsh ) level was studied. metaphase ii (mii) spindle area was analyzed for quantification of shape and size of oocytes.   methods: female mice were primed with 5 iu of pregnant mare’s stimulating gonadotrophin . germinal vesicle (gv ) oocytes were retrieved 4...

Background: Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a 45-56 kDa glycoprotein that has an important role in proliferation and embryo implantation. Its effect on oocyte maturation and how to exert the function remained to be elucidated. Methods: Immature mice superovulated with human menopausal gonadotropin and germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes were obtained from ovary 48 hours after. GV oocytes were cul...

Background: Effect of different doses of cysteamine on rate of in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF) and glutathione (GSH) level was studied. Metaphase II (MII) spindle area was analyzed for quantification of shape and size of oocytes. Methods: Female mice were primed with 5 IU of pregnant mare’s stimulating gonadotrophin. Germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes were retrieved 48 hrs la...

Polyspermy or the penetration of more than one sperm cell remains a problem during porcine in vitro fertilization (IVF). After in vitro culture of porcine zygotes, only a low percentage of blastocysts develop and their quality is inferior to that of in vivo derived blastocysts. It is unknown whether the cytoplasmic maturation of the oocyte is sufficiently sustained in current in vitro maturatio...

background: preparation of oocytes is one of the critical factors that determine the developmental competence of embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (ivf). objective: in this study, the effect of cysteamine, type of media and glutathione (gsh) level on blastocysts development after in vitro maturation of mouse oocytes were investigated. materials and methods: premature female mice were p...

One-cell bovine embryos produced by in vitro oocyte maturation (IVM) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) were cultured in chemically defined medium (CDM) to which the following growth-promoting factors were added separately: transferrin (Tf, 10 ug/ml), epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), transforming growth factor-betal (TGF-beta1), insulin-like growth fact...