1. Vitamin C Improves Oocyte In Vitro Maturation and Potentially Changes Embryo Quality in Cattle.
- Author
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Wang, Yueqi, Wang, Aibing, Liu, Hongmei, Yang, Rui, Zhang, Boyang, Tang, Bo, Li, Ziyi, and Zhang, Xueming
- Abstract
Simple Summary: Assisted reproductive technology including in vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and in vitro culture (IVC) of embryos is widely used both for humans and animals. In animal science and veterinary medicine, it is particularly important for livestock breeding. Although numerous efforts have been made, the development rates obtained with these techniques are still limited, especially in cattle. Vitamin C is a key nutrient that has multiple functions. To procure high-quality bovine oocytes, the effects of vitamin C on the IVM of bovine oocytes and embryo development at an early stage were investigated. We found that vitamin C supplementation at a tuned concentration improved bovine oocyte maturation and its combination in the media of IVM and IVC can potentially change the quality of bovine embryos. To obtain high-quality bovine oocytes, the effects of vitamin C (VC) on the IVM of bovine oocytes and early embryo development were investigated. The results showed the following. (1) The IVM medium containing 50 µg/mL VC improved the oocyte maturation rate but did not affect the parthenogenetic embryo development. (2) The IVC medium containing 20 µg/mL VC improved the cleavage rate of the IVF embryos and enhanced the mRNA transcriptions of pluripotency gene Oct4, Sox2, Cdx2, and Nanog in the blastocysts but had no effects on the blastocyst rate. (3) Combining supplementation of 50 µg/mL VC in IVM medium + 20 µg/mL VC in IVC medium (named as VC 50/20, similar hereinafter) elevated the cleavage rate of IVF embryos and enhanced the mRNA expressions of Oct4, Sox2, Cdx2, and Nanog in the blastocysts. (4) Combination of VC 0/20 and VC 50/20 enhanced the transcription of anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 and VC 50/0 weakened the transcription of pro-apoptotic gene Bax, while VC 0/40 and VC 0/60 increased Bax expression and diminished the Bcl-2/Bax ratio in blastocysts. Together, employing 50 µg/mL VC improves the IVM of bovine oocytes and combination of VC 50/20 potentially changes bovine embryo quality by enhancing the expressions of the pluripotency genes and regulating the expressions of apoptosis-related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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