314 MELATONIN ON IN VIVO AND IN VITRO MATURATION OF MOUSE OOCYTES

Abstract

Melatonin is a pineal hormone related to the control of the circadian cycle, besides the reproductive seasonality of some animal species, and has shown positive effects on oocyte maturation and embryo development. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of melatonin on in vivo and in vitro maturation of mouse oocytes. Female F1 hybrids (C57BL/6 × CBA; n = 8 per group/treatment) were used in 3 different treatments (trt) groups: (I) in vivo trt: mice received 2 different doses of melatonin injections, 10 and 20 mg kg^–1 per IP including a saline control dose (0 mg kg^–1 per IP) for 4 days along with ovarian stimulation trt of 5 IU of eCG IP, followed by 5 IU of hCG IP 48 h later, and cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) were collected 16 h after hCG; (II) mice received a similar in vivo melatonin trt, but ovarian stimulation trt was only 5 IU of eCG, no hCG, and COC were collected after 48 h and subsequently matured in vitro with 0.5 µg mL^–1 of FSH for 16 h; (III) in vitro maturation of oocytes: COC were collected 48 h after 5 IU of eCG and maturated in the presence of 3 different doses of melatonin (10^–9, 10^–6, and 10^–3 M) or 0.5 µg mL^–1 of FSH (control) for 16 h. In vitro-maturing oocytes were in incubated at 37°C, 5% CO₂, and 95% humidity. Maturation rates were evaluated according to the presence of the first polar body under an inverted microscope. Statistical analyses were performed by ANOVA followed by Tukey's test (4 replicates). In the first treatment, 20 mg kg^–1 of melatonin showed the highest in vivo maturation rate, 80.3% (61/76), while 10 mg kg^–1 of melatonin was 62.4% (53/85) and the saline control group was 69.4% (77/111), but differences were not significant (P > 0.05). For in vitro maturation of oocytes from animals previously treated with melatonin, the 10 mg kg^–1 of melatonin group had the highest maturation rate, 53.2% (99/186), in comparison with the saline and 20 mg kg^–1 of melatonin groups, which showed 46.6 (88/189) and 39.0% (85/218), respectively; again, no differences were detected (P > 0.05). In the last treatment, the maturation rates increased from 48.9 (43/88) to 53.7 (51/95) and 56.0% (56/100) as the melatonin concentrations decreased from 10^–3, 10^–6, and 10^–9 M, respectively. The control group had the highest rate of 57.3% (55/96), but no statistical differences were observed (P = 0.706). In conclusion, under the conditions studied, melatonin was unable to improve the maturation rate neither after in vivo nor in vitro treatment. However, during in vitro maturation, melatonin alone was as efficient as FSH in promoting maturation in murine oocytes, indicating its potential effect on stimulating meiosis. Therefore, the role of melatonin in stimulating meiosis needs further investigation.

Acknowledgments to FAPESP for fellowship (HF) and funding (CLVL).