180 LONG-TERM TRANSPORTATION OF BOVINE OOCYTES WITH MEIOTIC BLOCKERS: EFFECTS ON NUCLEAR MATURATION

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the blockade and the reversal of meiosis block in bovine oocytes treated with a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (butyrolactone-I; BL) combined or not with a selective inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor protein (tyrphostin AG 1478; AG) in a prematuration (PM) culture during oocyte transport. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (n = 4107) were transported in PM medium (TCM-199 with bicarbonate and 0.3% BSA) supplemented with one of the following inhibitors: 50 µM BL; 100 µM BL; 1 µM AG; 50 µM BL + 1 µM AG; or 100 µM BL + 1µM AG. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were transported in well-sealed polystyrene tubes (30 oocytes/tube) containing 200 μL of PM medium covered with mineral oil and gassed with 5% O₂, 5% CO₂, and 90% N₂. The tubes were packed in a portable incubator (Thawing Unit MT 35/42, Minitub, Tiefenbach, Germany) at 38.5°C for 22 h. Afterward, treated oocytes were removed from meiotic inhibitors, transferred to in vitro maturation (IVM) medium (TCM-199 with bicarbonate, 0.5 mg mL⁻¹ of FSH, 100 IU mL⁻¹ of hCG, and 10% FCS), and cultured in a bench-top incubator (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) under 38.5°C and 5% CO₂ in air for 20, 22, 24, or 26 h. The control groups were IVM for 20, 22, 24, or 26 h in IVM medium in the bench-top incubator at 38.5°C and 5% CO₂ in air (Control; C) or in the portable incubator under the same conditions used for the treated groups (Transport Control; TC). For meiosis evaluation, oocytes were stained with 1% Hoescht immediately after follicle removal (0 h), at 6 and 22 h of PM, and after 20, 22, 24, and 26 h of IVM, and were classified as immature (germinal vesicle; GV) or mature (metaphase II; MII); intermediate phases of meiosis (GV breakdown, metaphase I, anaphase I, or telophase I) were not demonstrated in this study. Data were analysed by ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (P < 0.05) and are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean. The GV rates after 6 h of transport did not differ (P > 0.05) between 0-h oocytes (88.6 ± 2.3%) and the treated groups (70.3 ± 1.9% to 79.3 ± 2.2%); although GV rates of C (49.5 ± 2.4%) and TC (49.5 ± 2.4%) groups differed (P < 0.05) from 0-h oocytes, they did not differ from treated oocytes with the exception of the 1 µM AG group (79.3 ± 2.2%), which differed from TC (P < 0.05). After 22 h of transport, the GV rates of treated oocytes (50.3 ± 5.5 to 70.3 ± 6.6%) did not differ (P > 0.05) from 0-h oocytes (88.6 ± 2.3%) and were higher (P < 0.05) than C (4.6 ± 2.8%) and TC (8.3 ± 4.5%) that had the highest MII rates (68.4 ± 5.3 and 75.5 ± 2.0%, respectively, for C and TC) compared with the other groups (0 to 13.2 ± 10.2%). After meiotic inhibitors removal and IVM, meiosis block was fully reversed and there were no differences (P > 0.05) in the rates of MII between treated oocytes and C and TC groups after 20 (56.6%, averaged), 22 (57.7%, averaged), 24 (66.2%, averaged), or 26 h of IVM (57.0%, averaged). In conclusion, the meiotic inhibitors were effective in maintaining the majority of treated oocytes in GV stage after 22 h of transport and the inhibitory effect was fully reverted after its removal.

Research was supported by FAPESP and CAPES.