Chaney Heather L, Current Jaelyn Z, Zhang Mingxiang, Yao Jianbo
Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
J Assist Reprod Genet. 2025 May 8. doi: 10.1007/s10815-025-03502-9.
Bovine embryos produced in vitro are developmentally inferior compared to in vivo derived embryos due to the lack of optimization of the oocyte and embryo culture conditions in vitro. Agouti-signaling protein (ASIP), a secreted protein produced by the bovine oocyte, has been recently shown to aid in acquiring oocyte developmental competence. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to reveal the effects of supplementation of ASIP during in vitro oocyte maturation and embryo culture on subsequent embryonic development.
Cumulus-oocyte complexes or presumptive zygotes were placed in culture medium containing either 0, 1, 10, or 100 ng/mL of recombinant ASIP (rASIP). Effects on development, gene expression, lipid content, and blastocyst cell allocation were examined.
Supplementation of rASIP during oocyte maturation was found to significantly increase the blastocyst development rate (P < 0.05) and produced blastocysts with an increased inner cell mass to trophectoderm cell ratio. Addition of rASIP during oocyte maturation increased oocyte (P < 0.05) but not embryo (P > 0.05) lipid levels. The expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism, including FASN, PPAR , SCD, CSL1, ELOVL5, and ELOVL6, was not significantly altered in blastocysts due to treatment (P > 0.05). Supplementation of rASIP during embryo culture was not found to affect blastocyst rates.
The data presented in this study further support the role of ASIP in oocyte competence and suggest that the supplementation of rASIP during oocyte maturation may lead to the production of blastocyst of increased quality.
由于体外卵母细胞和胚胎培养条件未得到优化，体外产生的牛胚胎在发育上比体内来源的胚胎差。刺鼠信号蛋白（ASIP）是一种由牛卵母细胞产生的分泌蛋白，最近已证明它有助于获得卵母细胞的发育能力。因此，在本研究中，我们旨在揭示在体外卵母细胞成熟和胚胎培养过程中添加ASIP对后续胚胎发育的影响。
将卵丘-卵母细胞复合体或推定受精卵置于含有0、1、10或100 ng/mL重组ASIP（rASIP）的培养基中。检测对发育、基因表达、脂质含量和囊胚细胞分配的影响。
发现在卵母细胞成熟过程中添加rASIP可显著提高囊胚发育率（P<0.05），并产生内细胞团与滋养外胚层细胞比例增加的囊胚。在卵母细胞成熟过程中添加rASIP可提高卵母细胞的脂质水平（P<0.05），但对胚胎脂质水平无影响（P>0.05）。由于处理，参与脂质代谢的基因（包括FASN、PPAR 、SCD、CSL1、ELOVL5和ELOVL6）在囊胚中的表达未发生显著变化（P>0.05）。发现在胚胎培养过程中添加rASIP不影响囊胚率。
本研究提供的数据进一步支持了ASIP在卵母细胞能力方面的作用，并表明在卵母细胞成熟过程中添加rASIP可能导致产生质量更高的囊胚。
