Reproduction Abstracts

Introduction: ROCK (Rho kinase) is a Rho-GTPase effector that is involved in various cellular functions, such as stress fiber formation, cell migration, tumor cell invasion, and cell motility. In this study, we investigated possible roles for ROCK in mouse oocyte meiosis and embryo development.Materials and methods: Time lapse microscopy, immunofluorescence staining, western blotting, RNAi and inhibitor treatment were adopted to analyze the roles of ROCK...

Introduction: We recently demonstrated that somatic follicular cells finely regulate the translation of stored mRNAs during oocyte maturation. Amphiregulin and other EGF-like peptides expressed by follicular cells trigger the translation of specific transcripts in the oocyte, seemingly by indirect activation of the Phosphatidyl-inositol-3-kinase PI3K/AKT/mTOR cascade. The present study aims to better characterize the role of PI3K/AKT during oocyte maturation by using a genetic...

Introduction: Aneuploidies in mammalian embryos usually originate from oocyte chromosome segregation errors in meiosis I and are a major genetic cause of pregnancy loss. But the mechanism remains poorly understood. We have previously shown total two-cell arrest of IVF embryos derived from superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1)-deficient mouse oocytes under atmospheric oxygen conditions. This study was conducted to investigate effects of intrinsic oxidative stress by a SOD1 deficiency d...

Introduction: The WNT signaling pathway plays important roles in sex determination and embryonic development. Previous results indicated that WNT4 is required for normal ovarian follicle development and fertility and that WNT4 and WNT5a play redundant roles in regulating oocyte entry into meiosis during embryogenesis, suggesting potential redundant roles of WNT4 and WNT5a in the ovary. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of granulosa cell-conditional knock-...

Little is known about the involvement of miRNAs during terminal follicle differentiation in the monovular ovary. This study aimed to characterise miRNAs involved in the follicle-luteal transition in bovine. Microarray analyses were performed on RNA from ovulatory-size follicles (n=6) and early corpora lutea (n=6) obtained at an abattoir. Exiqon’s miRCURY LNA microRNA Array, sixth generation was used and results were validated by qPCR. A total of ten and ...