Phosphorylated ERM regulates meiotic maturation in mouse oocytes.

The cytoskeleton of mammal oocytes provides structural support to the plasma membrane and contributes to critical cellular dynamic processes such as nuclear positioning, germinal vesicle breakdown, spindle orientation, chromosome segregation, polar body extrusion, and transmembrane signaling pathways. The ERM family (ezrin, radixin and moesin) well known as membrane-cytoskeletal crosslinkers play a crucial role in organizing plasma membrane domains through their capacity to interact with transmembrane proteins and the underlying cytoskeleton. Recent works mainly focused on the structural analysis of the ERM family members and their binding partners, together with multiple functions in cell mitosis, have significantly advanced our understanding of the importance of membrane-cytoskeletal interactions.

Velvet antler water extract protects porcine oocytes from lipopolysaccharide-induced meiotic defects.

Previous studies have demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as a central toxic factor of gram-negative bacteria, can induce oxidative stress and cellular inflammation to result in the impairment of female fertility in different organisms. Particularly, it has harmful effects on the oocyte quality and subsequent embryonic development. However, the approach concerning how to prevent oocytes from LPS-induced deterioration still remains largely unexplored.

Involvement of testicular N-glycoproteome heterogeneity in seasonal spermatogenesis of the American mink ().

Spermatogenesis in the American mink is characterized by an annual cycle of transition involving completely inactive and fully activated stages. N-glycosylation of proteins has emerged as an important regulator as it affects protein folding, secretion, degradation, and activity. However, the function of protein N-glycosylation in seasonal spermatogenesis of the American mink remains unclear.

Glycine and Melatonin Improve Preimplantation Development of Porcine Oocytes Vitrified at the Germinal Vesicle Stage.

Lipid-rich porcine oocytes are extremely sensitive to cryopreservation compared to other low-lipid oocytes. Vitrification has outperformed slowing freezing in oocyte cryopreservation and is expected to improve further by minimizing cellular osmotic and/or oxidative stresses. In this study, we compared the effects of loading porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes with glycine (an organic osmolyte) or glycine plus melatonin (an endogenous antioxidant) during vitrification, thawing and subsequent maturation to mitigate osmotic injuries or osmotic and oxidative damages on the developmental potential of porcine oocytes.

Transcriptomic analysis of ovarian signaling at the emergence of the embryo from obligate diapause in the American mink (Neovison vison).

Mink embryonic diapause occurs when embryos, at the blastocyst stage, enter a state of a reversible arrest in development and metabolism. Some ovarian factors are required because ovariectomy leads to prevention of implantation in mink. Mechanisms regulating this process, however, remain largely unknown.

Development and evaluation of a direct TaqMan qPCR assay for the rapid detection of diverse carnivore amdoparvoviruses.

Amdoparvoviruses infect carnivore species, including mink, raccoon dog, fox, skunk, and red panda. Amdoparvovirus infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in farmed minks. Here, we developed a direct TaqMan qPCR assay for detection and quantification of carnivore amdoparvoviruses by using three primers and one probe based on the conserved VP2 gene.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Unusual Localized Skin Laxity in Sika Deer ().

Cutis laxa represents a heterogeneous group of rare, inherited, or acquired connective tissue disorders with the common feature of loose and redundant skin with decreased elasticity. The skin of affected deer showed abnormal collagen fiber morphology. To identify the differentially expressed genes of the unusual localized skin laxity in sika deer, we performed transcriptome analysis in the affected and control sika deer.

Focal adhesion kinase PTK2 autophosphorylation is not required for the activation of sodium-hydrogen exchange by decreased cell volume in the preimplantation mouse embryo.

SummaryRecovery from decreased cell volume is accomplished by a regulated increase of intracellular osmolarity. The acute response is activation of inorganic ion transport into the cell, the main effector of which is the Na+/H+ exchanger NHE1. NHE1 is rapidly activated by a cell volume decrease in early embryos, but how this occurs is incompletely understood.

Identification of the JY-1 in sika deer and its effects on granulosa cells cultured in vitro.

The oocyte-specific protein JY-1 was reported as an important regulator of both function of ovarian granulosa cells and early embryogenesis in cattle. Here, we found that the transcripts of JY-1 were also present in sika deer granulosa cells (GCs) through in situ hybridization and qRT-PCR. The complete sika deer JY-1 coding sequence was identified, which had three exons separated by two introns.

Histone deacetylase inhibitor stimulates E2 and P4 secretion in sika deer ovarian granulosa cells at a moderate dose.

The histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) and tumor suppressor play an important role in genome reorganization and epigenetic regulation. In this study, granulosa cells (GCs) isolated from sika deer ovaries were cultured and treated with different concentrations of trichostatin A (TSA) for 48 h. It was found that TSA inhibited GCs proliferation and induced GCs apoptosis by upregulating expression of BAX, meanwhile, downregulating expression of GLUT3, GLUT8, BCL-XL.

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid enhances the development of porcine embryos derived from in vitro-matured oocytes and evaporatively dried spermatozoa.

Evaporative drying (ED) is an alternative technique for long-term preservation of mammalian sperm, which does not require liquid nitrogen or freeze-drying equipment, but offers advantages for storage and shipping at ambient temperature and low cost. However, the development of zygotes generated from these sperms was poor. Here, we demonstrated that the supplementation of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), an endogenous bile acid, during embryo culture improved the developmental competency of embryos derived from in vitro matured pig oocytes injected intracytoplasmically with boar ED spermatozoa by reducing the production of reactive oxygen species, the DNA degradation and fragmentation, and the expression of apoptosis-related gene Bax and Bak, and by increasing the transcription of anti-apoptosis gene Bcl-XL and Bcl-2.

Acute cell volume regulation by Janus kinase 2-mediated sodium/hydrogen exchange activation develops at the late one-cell stage in mouse preimplantation embryos.

Early preimplantation embryos are extremely sensitive to dysregulation of cell volume, which can lead to developmental arrest. It was previously shown that mouse embryos at the two-cell stage respond to a cell volume decrease by quickly activating Na+/H+ exchange via a signaling mechanism that involves the tyrosine kinase Janus kinase 2 (JAK2). However, it was not known whether this mechanism is active at the one-cell stage, when embryos are most sensitive to perturbed cell volume.

Ovulation, fertilization and preimplantation embryonic development in raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides).

A study involving 32 sexual mature females was conducted to characterize ovulation, fertilization and early embryonic development in vivo in raccoon dogs. Oocytes and embryos were collected from the oviducts and uteri, evaluated by stereomicroscopy. Ovulation occurred 25-32h after a female first accepted mounting, regardless of copulation, when the females were paired with a male in the same cage.

Glycine increases preimplantation development of mouse oocytes following vitrification at the germinal vesicle stage.

Ice-free cryopreservation, referred to as vitrification, is receiving increased attention in the human and animal assisted reproduction. However, it introduces the detrimental osmotic stress by adding and removing high contents of cryoprotectants. In this study, we evaluated the effects of normalizing cell volume regulation by adding glycine, an organic osmolyte, during vitrification of mouse germinal vesicle stage oocyte and/or subsequent maturation on its development.

Fecal progestin concentrations as an indicator of reproductive success in American Mink.

Efforts to increase mink reproductive success (live births and litter sizes) can be partly assessed by measurement of blood progesterone levels. However, the stress of blood sampling increases the incidence of failed matings, aborted fetuses and death of the dam. We have therefore non-invasively measured fecal progesterone metabolite (progestin) concentrations during the reproductive cycle of mink.

Correction: The Presence of the Y-Chromosome, Not the Absence of the Second X-Chromosome, Alters the mRNA Levels Stored in the Fully Grown XY Mouse Oocyte.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2 is a critical regulator of pig oocyte meiotic maturation.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2), a direct substrate of p38 MAPK, plays key roles in multiple cellular processes. In the present study, we showed that MK2 affected not only cumulus expansion, but also the oocyte meiotic cell cycle in porcine oocytes. Inhibition of MK2 arrested oocytes at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage or the prometaphase I/metaphase I stage.

Effects of long-term soft contact lens wear on the corneal thickness and corneal epithelial thickness of myopic subjects.

To perform safe and successful corneal refractive surgery on myopic patients, corneal thickness (CT) and corneal epithelial thickness (CET) must be accurately measured. Numerous individuals with myopia wear soft contact lenses (SCLs) for the correction of visual acuity but may subsequently undergo corneal refractive surgery. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the effects of long-term SCL wear on the CT and the CET of myopic subjects in order to guarantee the safety and accuracy of subsequent corneal refractive surgeries.

l-carnitine supplementation during vitrification of mouse germinal vesicle stage-oocytes and their subsequent in vitro maturation improves meiotic spindle configuration and mitochondrial distribution in metaphase II oocytes.

Study Question: How does l-carnitine (LC) supplementation during vitrification and in vitro maturation (IVM) of germinal vesicle stage (GV)-oocytes improve the developmental competence of the resultant metaphase II (MII) oocytes?

Summary Answer: LC supplementation during both vitrification of GV-oocytes and their subsequent IVM improved nuclear maturation as well as meiotic spindle assembly and mitochondrial distribution in MII oocytes.

What Is Known Already: Vitrification of GV-oocytes results in a lower success rate of blastocyst development compared with non-vitrified oocytes. LC supplementation during both vitrification and IVM of mouse GV-oocytes significantly improves embryonic development after IVF.

Bi-directional communication with the cumulus cells is involved in the deficiency of XY oocytes in the components essential for proper second meiotic spindle assembly.

The oocyte becomes competent for embryonic development by involving mutual communication with cumulus cells (CCs) during folliculogenesis. How this communication takes place under physiological conditions is not fully understood. Current study examined oocyte-CCs communication in the XY sex-revered female mouse.

Sodium fluoride disrupts DNA methylation of H19 and Peg3 imprinted genes during the early development of mouse embryo.

Sodium fluoride (NaF) is associated with embryonic and fetal development abnormalities, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. DNA methylation, an important epigenetic reprogramming mechanism, is essential for normal embryonic development. Thus, we investigated the effect of NaF on DNA methylation in early mouse embryos, as well as mouse sperm and liver using bisulfite sequencing and ELISA.

L-carnitine supplementation during vitrification of mouse oocytes at the germinal vesicle stage improves preimplantation development following maturation and fertilization in vitro.

Oocyte cryopreservation is important for assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Although cryopreservation of metaphase II (MII) oocytes has been successfully used, MII oocytes are vulnerable to the damage inflicted by the freezing procedure. Cryopreservation of germinal vesicle stage oocytes (GV-oocytes) is an alternative choice; however, blastocyst development from GV-oocytes is limited largely due to the need for in vitro maturation (IVM).

The presence of the Y-chromosome, not the absence of the second X-chromosome, alters the mRNA levels stored in the fully grown XY mouse oocyte.

The oocytes of B6.Y(TIR) sex-reversed female mouse mature in culture but fail to develop after fertilization because of their cytoplasmic defects. To identify the defective components, we compared the gene expression profiles between the fully-grown oocytes of B6.