255 EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-I ON THE MATURATION AND DEVELOPMENTAL COMPETENCE OF BOVINE OOCYTES EXPOSED TO HEAT SHOCK

Abstract

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) has been suggested as a survival factor for pre-implantation bovine embryos exposed to heat shock (HS). Therefore, the aims of the study were 1) to examine the protective effects of IGF-I on the developmental competence of bovine oocytes exposed to HS, particularly the effects on oocyte cytoplasmic and nuclear maturation, and 2) to examine whether IGF-I administration contracts HS-induced apoptosis in bovine oocytes. In vitro maturation/IVF/in vitro-production procedures were performed as described previously by Gendelman and Roth (2012). Briefly, cumulus–oocyte complexes (n = 250 to 300/group; 5 replicates) were matured (TCM-199 with Earle’s salts; 22 h, 5% CO₂) at 38.5°C or exposed to HS (41°C) with or without 100 µg of IGF-I (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA). Matured oocytes were IVF (18 h, 38.5°C, 5% CO₂) and cultured in K simplex optimized medium (38.5°C, 5% CO₂, 5% O₂) for 8 days. Cleavage rates for 2- and 4-cell-stage embryos were assessed at 42 h post-fertilization. For each experimental group, a subgroup of matured oocytes (n = 50) was examined at the end of maturation for nuclear status (1 µg mL^–1 of Hoechst 33342, Sigma), cortical granule migration (fluorescein isothiocyanate-Lens culinaris agglutinin, Sigma) and apoptotic status (TUNEL, Roche, Basel, Switzerland). Data were analysed by one-way ANOVA (JMP-6, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) followed by Student’s t-test. Data are presented as mean ± SE. The proportion of oocytes that cleaved to the 2- to 4-cell-stage embryos was lower in the HS group than in the control group (56.55 ± 4.49% v. 75.6 ± 4.16%, respectively; P < 0.05). Although not significant, IGF-I increased the proportions of heat-stressed oocytes that cleaved to the 2- to 4-cell stage (62.32 ± 4.49% v. 56.55 ± 4.49%, for HS + IGF-I and HS, respectively). Neither maturation at 41.5°C nor IGF-I supplementation had any effect on cortical granule migration because the proportions of oocytes with a type I, type II, and type III cortical granule distribution were similar in the control and HS groups. However, the proportion of oocytes that underwent nuclear maturation (i.e. having a nucleus at the telophase-I or metaphase-II stages) was significantly lower in the HS group than in the control group (P < 0.01), and IGF-I slightly increased their proportion in HS oocytes (nonsignificant). The proportion of TUNEL-positive oocytes tended to be higher in the HS group compared with the control group (47.9 ± 12.2% v. 28.0 ± 12.2%, respectively; P ≤ 0.09), and IGF-I decreased the proportion of TUNEL-positive oocytes in the HS group to a level (27.4 ± 12.2%) similar to that noted in the control group. In summary, exposing bovine oocytes to a physiologically relevant thermal stress impaired their ability to undergo first cleavages, most likely because of alteration in nuclear rather than cytoplasmic maturation. Insulin-like growth factor-I was found to slightly alleviate the deleterious effects of heat shock on bovine oocytes.