scholarly journals Differences in the metabolomic signatures of porcine follicular fluid collected from environments associated with good and poor oocyte quality

Reproduction ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 146 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Bertoldo ◽  
Lydie Nadal-Desbarats ◽  
Nadine Gérard ◽  
Alexis Dubois ◽  
Patricia K Holyoake ◽  
...  

The microenvironment of the developing follicle is critical to the acquisition of oocyte developmental competence, which is influenced by several factors including follicle size and season. The aim of this study was to characterise the metabolomic signatures of porcine follicular fluid (FF) collected from good and poor follicular environments, using high-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy. Sow ovaries were collected at slaughter, 4 days after weaning, in summer and winter. The contents of small (3–4 mm) and large (5–8 mm) diameter follicles were aspirated and pooled separately for each ovary pair. Groups classified as summer-small (n=8), summer-large (n=15), winter-small (n=9) and winter-large (n=15) were analysed by1H-NMR spectroscopy. The concentrations of 11 metabolites differed due to follicle size alone (P<0.05), including glucose, lactate, hypoxanthine and five amino acids. The concentrations of all these metabolites, except for glucose, were lower in large FF compared with small FF. Significant interaction effects of follicle size and season were found for the concentrations of glutamate, glycine,N-acetyl groups and uridine. Succinate was the only metabolite that differed in concentration due to season alone (P<0.05). The FF levels of progesterone, androstenedione and oestradiol were correlated with the concentrations of most of the metabolites examined. The results indicate that there is a distinct shift in follicular glucose metabolism as follicles increase in diameter and suggest that follicular cells may be more vulnerable to oxidative stress during the summer months. Our findings demonstrate the power of1H-NMR spectroscopy to expand our understanding of the dynamic and complex microenvironment of the developing follicle.

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
M. Bertoldo ◽  
P. K. Holyoake ◽  
G. Evans ◽  
C. G. Grupen

Effective in vitro maturation (IVM) is essential for successful in vitro embryo production. The morphology of the cumulus investment before and after IVM may be a useful noninvasive indicator of oocyte quality. In pigs, oocyte developmental competence is reduced during the summer months. The aim of this study was to determine whether the morphology of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) before and after IVM are associated with oocyte quality, using COC collected from small and large follicles in summer and winter as models of poor and good oocyte quality. Ovaries were collected from sows slaughtered 4 days after weaning. The COC recovered from small (3-4 mm) and large (5-8 mm) antral follicles were morphologically graded and parthenogenetically activated following IVM during winter (n = 1419; 10 replicates) and summer (n = 2803; 10 replicates). Grade 1 and 2 COC had >2 layers of compact cumulus cells and a homogenous cytoplasm. Grade 3 COC were either partially or fully denuded, had a heterogeneous cytoplasm, or were vacuolated or dark in color. Grade 4 COC had expanded cumulus cells. Cumulus expansion was also assessed subsequent to IVM. The COC recorded as having a cumulus expansion index (CEI) of 1 had the poorest expansion with no detectable response to IVM, whereas those with a CEI of 4 had the greatest amount of expansion, including that of the corona radiata. Data were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model in GenStat® (release 10, VSN International, Hemel Hempstead, UK). There was an effect of follicle size for Grade 1 COC, with COC from large follicles in both seasons yielding better quality COC (P < 0.05). The proportion of COC in Grade 2 was higher in small follicles during winter compared with large follicles, but there were no differences between follicle sizes during summer (P < 0.05). The proportion of COC with CEI 1 was highest in COC from small follicles during summer (P < 0.05). The proportion of COC from large follicles with CEI 2 was higher during summer compared with winter (P < 0.05). There were no seasonal or follicle size effects on COC with CEI 3 or 4 (P > 0.05). The proportion of oocytes that developed to blastocysts was greater in winter than in summer (39.06% ± 5.67 v. 22.27% ± 4.01; P < 0.05). Oocytes derived from large follicles had a greater ability to form blastocysts compared with those from small follicles (37.13% ± 5.65 v. 23.32% ± 4.56; P < 0.06). Morphological assessment of cumulus cells before and after IVM may be a useful tool to evaluate the effects of follicle size on oocyte developmental competence. However, the results of the present study indicate that cumulus cell morphology is not a good indicator of the effect of season on oocyte developmental competence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 740-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
N G J Costermans ◽  
N M Soede ◽  
F van Tricht ◽  
M Blokland ◽  
B Kemp ◽  
...  

Abstract Identification of reliable characteristics of follicle quality and developmental competence has been pursued in numerous studies, but with inconsistent outcomes. Here, we aimed to identify these characteristics by analysis of the follicular fluid (FF) steroid profile in relation to cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) morphology and follicle size, followed by molecular substantiation. Multiparous sows at weaning were used to facilitate analysis at the start of the follicular phase of the oestrus cycle. Sows with a higher average follicle size (≥5 mm vs. &lt; 5 mm) had a higher follicular fluid β-estradiol concentration, but did not differ in other measured steroids. Sows with high compared to low percentage high-quality COCs (&lt;70% vs. ≥70% high-quality) had follicular fluid with a higher concentration of β-estradiol, 19-norandrostenedione, progesterone, and α-testosterone, while the concentration of cortisol was lower. Transcriptome analysis of granulosa cells of healthy follicles of sows with a high percentage high-quality COCs showed higher abundance of transcripts involved in ovarian steroidogenesis (e.g., CYP19A2 and 3, POR, VEGFA) and growth (IGF1) and differential abundance of transcripts involved in granulosa cell apoptosis (e.g., GADD45A, INHBB). Differences in aromatase transcript abundance (CYP19A1, 2 and 3) were confirmed at the protein level. In addition, sows with a high percentage high-quality COCs lost less weight during lactation and had higher plasma IGF1 concentration at weaning, which may have affected COC quality. To the best of our knowledge, this study is also the first to report the relation between FF steroid profile and COC quality.


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 286
Author(s):  
C. G. Grupen ◽  
T. S. Hussein ◽  
S. J. Schulz ◽  
D. T. Armstrong

Supplementing medium with follicular fluid (FF) during in vitro maturation (IVM) enhances the developmental competence of porcine oocytes, indicating that factors present in FF are beneficial to cytoplasmic maturation. Previous findings suggest that porcine FF contains high levels of superoxide dismutase activity and exerts a beneficial effect on cytoplasmic maturation by protecting oocytes from oxidative stress (Tatemoto et al. 2004 Biol. Reprod. 71, 1150–1157). Since oxidative stress is a potent inducer of apoptosis, the aim of the present study was to examine the temporal effects of FF during IVM on cumulus cell apoptosis and oocyte developmental competence. Ovaries of prepubertal pigs were collected from a local abattoir and antral follicles, 3 to 7 mm in diameter, were aspirated. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) with at least 3 uniform layers of compact cumulus cells (CCs) were recovered, washed, and transferred to maturation medium (MM) with or without 25% FF. At 22 h of IVM, COCs from each group were washed and transferred to fresh MM with or without 25% FF, forming 4 groups: -FF/-FF, -FF/+FF, +FF/-FF, and +FF/+FF. Cohorts of COCs were TUNEL stained at 22 and 44 h of IVM using the In Situ Cell Death Detection kit (Roche Diagnostics, Castle Hill, NSW, Australia) according to the manufacturer&apos;s instructions, and apoptotic CCs were visualized using confocal microscopy. Oocytes denuded at 44 h, that had a polar body, were treated with ionomycin and 6-dimethylaminopurine to induce parthenogenetic development, and were cultured for 7 days in NCSU-23 medium at 38.5&deg;C in 5&percnt; O2, 5&percnt; CO2, and 90&percnt; N2. Data were subjected to ANOVA and Tukey&apos;s post-hoc test. At 22 h of IVM, the presence of FF reduced the proportion of apoptotic CCs in COCs (2.1&percnt; vs. 4.6&percnt;). COCs matured with FF from 22 to 44 h of IVM had much lower proportions of apoptotic CCs (&plus;FF/&plus;FF: 0.9&percnt;; &minus;FF/&plus;FF: 2.6&percnt;) compared with those matured without FF (&plus;FF/&minus;FF: 10.3&percnt;; &minus;FF/&minus;FF: 17.8&percnt;). The rate of maturation to the metaphase-II stage was greater when oocytes were matured with FF from 0 to 22 h of IVM (&minus;FF/&minus;FF: 68.6&percnt;; &minus;FF/&plus;FF: 72.8&percnt;; &plus;FF/&minus;FF: 89.2&percnt;; &plus;FF/&plus;FF: 86.2&percnt;). Maturation without FF for the entire IVM interval reduced the proportion of activated oocytes that formed blastocysts compared with the other groups (&minus;FF/&minus;FF: 25.1&percnt;; &minus;FF/&plus;FF: 44.6&percnt;; &plus;FF/&minus;FF: 46.6&percnt;; &plus;FF/&plus;FF: 47.3&percnt;). Despite a 4-fold difference in the proportion of apoptotic CCs between COCs of the &plus;FF/&minus;FF and &minus;FF/&plus;FF groups, exposure to FF for the first or second half of IVM was as beneficial to oocyte developmental competence as exposure to FF for the entire IVM interval. This suggests that the protective effect of FF in reducing oxidative stress on oocytes during IVM is distinct from the effect on oocyte developmental competence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
M. Ritz ◽  
A. Gonzalez ◽  
A.-S. Fries ◽  
T. Scheu ◽  
N. Blad-Stahl ◽  
...  

Supplementation of rumen-protected amino acids (RPAA) has proven to be an effective tool to supply limiting AA in dairy diets. Methionine and lysine are the two most limiting AA for lactating dairy cows. Recently, it has been shown that methionine supplementation seems to affect pre-implantation embryos collected from superovulated cows enhancing their developmental competence because there is strong evidence that endogenous lipid reserves serve as an energy substrate (Acosta et al. 2016 Theriogenology 85, 1669–1679). Moreover, higher concentrations of methionine were determined in the follicular fluid of the first dominant follicle postpartum in cows supplemented with rumen-protected methionine and rumen-protected choline from 21 days before calving to 30 days postpartum and it was assumed that higher methionine concentrations in the follicular fluid could affect oocyte quality (Acosta et al. 2017 Theriogenology 96, 1–9). There is no information available so far regarding the effect of a combined methionine and lysine supplementation (each rumen-protected) on oocyte quality. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a combined methionine and lysine supplementation during early to mid-lactation on the developmental competence of oocytes collected from lactating dairy cows (days 0 to 100 p.p.). Thirty pregnant multiparous German Holstein dairy cows were grouped 3 weeks before their expected calving date, receiving identical diets. After calving, they were randomly allocated to 2 groups fed a total mixed ration supplemented with (N=14 cows; RPAA) or without (N=16 cows; CON) LysiGEMTM (encapsulated lysine; Kemin Industries) and Metasmart DryTM (isopropyl ester of the hydroxylated analogue of methionine adsorbed onto a silicon dioxide carrier; Adisseo). Starting from 45 days p.p., animals from both groups were submitted to an ovum pickup (OPU) session once a week for at least 8 weeks. Collected cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) were subjected to a standard invitro production (IVP) protocol (Stinshoff et al. 2014 Reprod. Fertil. Dev. 26, 502–10) including IVM, IVF, and invitro culture (IVC). Cleavage and developmental rates up to the morula/blastocyst stage were recorded on Days 3, 7, and 8. In total, 1211 follicles have been aspirated from RPAA animals compared with 1413 from CON animals, from which 742 and 885 COC were collected, respectively. The calculated recovery rate based on the number of aspirated follicles and collected COC was similar for both groups (61.3±29.4% vs. 62.6±33.5%). Cleavage and developmental rates based on 240 (RPAA group) and 299 (CON group) COC also showed similar results [RPAA: 84.1±5.9% (202/240), 18.3±4.4% (44/240), 18.8±4.7% (45/240); CON: 81.9±8.6% (245/299), 15.4±8.9% (46/299), 16.7±8.4% (50/299)]. In conclusion, supplementation of RPAA (methionine and lysine) had no beneficial effect on the developmental competence of COC obtained from these animals compared with those collected from cows fed the diet without RPAA supplementation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1025-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evi M.L. Petro ◽  
Jo L.M.R. Leroy ◽  
Adrian Covaci ◽  
Erik Fransen ◽  
Diane De Neubourg ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvana Vilca-Melendez ◽  
Malin V. Uthaug ◽  
Julian L. Griffin

While psychedelics may have therapeutic potential for treating mental health disorders such as depression, further research is needed to better understand their biological effects and mechanisms of action when considering the development of future novel therapy approaches. Psychedelic research could potentially benefit from the integration of metabonomics by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy which is an analytical chemistry-based approach that can measure the breakdown of drugs into their metabolites and their metabolic consequences from various biofluids. We have performed a systematic review with the primary aim of exploring published literature where 1H NMR analysed psychedelic substances including psilocin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), LSD derivatives, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) and bufotenin. The second aim was to assess the benefits and limitations of 1H NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics as a tool in psychedelic research and the final aim was to explore potential future directions. We found that the most current use of 1H NMR in psychedelic research has been for the structural elucidation and analytical characterisation of psychedelic molecules and that no papers used 1H NMR in the metabolic profiling of biofluids, thus exposing a current research gap and the underuse of 1H NMR. The efficacy of 1H NMR spectroscopy was also compared to mass spectrometry, where both metabonomics techniques have previously shown to be appropriate for biofluid analysis in other applications. Additionally, potential future directions for psychedelic research were identified as real-time NMR, in vivo1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and 1H NMR studies of the gut microbiome. Further psychedelic studies need to be conducted that incorporate the use of 1H NMR spectroscopy in the analysis of metabolites both in the peripheral biofluids and in vivo to determine whether it will be an effective future approach for clinical and naturalistic research.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 558-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
F-M Moussallieh ◽  
K Elbayed ◽  
JB Chanson ◽  
G Rudolf ◽  
M Piotto ◽  
...  

Background:Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS), two inflammatory demyelinating diseases, are characterized by different therapeutic strategies. Currently, the only biological diagnostic tool available to distinguish NMO from MS is the specific serum autoantibody that targets aquaporin 4, but its sensitivity is low.Objective:To assess the diagnostic accuracy of metabolomic biomarker profiles in these two neurological conditions, compared to control patients.Methods:We acquired serum spectra (47 MS, 44 NMO and 42 controls) using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy. We used multivariate pattern recognition analysis to identify disease-specific metabolic profiles.Results:The1H-NMR spectroscopic analysis evidenced two metabolites, originating probably from astrocytes, scyllo-inositol and acetate, as promising serum biomarkers of MS and NMO, respectively. In 87.8% of MS patients, scyllo-inositol increased 0.15 to 3-fold, compared to controls and in 74.3% of NMO patients, acetate increased 0.4 to 7-fold, compared to controls. Using these two metabolites simultaneously, we can discriminate MS versus NMO patients (sensitivity, 94.3%; specificity, 90.2%).Conclusion:This study demonstrates the potential of1H-NMR spectroscopy of serum as a novel, promising analytical tool to discriminate populations of patients affected by NMO or MS.


2009 ◽  
Vol 297 (1) ◽  
pp. R202-R209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngja Park ◽  
Seoung Bum Kim ◽  
Bing Wang ◽  
Roberto A. Blanco ◽  
Ngoc-Anh Le ◽  
...  

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy of plasma provides a global metabolic profiling method that shows promise for clinical diagnostics. However, cross-sectional studies are complicated by a lack of understanding of intraindividual variation, and this limits experimental design and interpretation of data. The present study determined the diurnal variation detected by1H NMR spectroscopy of human plasma. Data reduction methods revealed three time-of-day metabolic patterns, which were associated with morning, afternoon, and night. Major discriminatory regions for these time-of-day patterns included the various kinds of lipid signals (-CH2- and -CH2OCOR), and the region between 3 and 4 ppm heavily overlapped with amino acids that had α-CH and α-CH2. The phasing and duration of time-of-day patterns were variable among individuals, apparently because of individual difference in food processing/digestion and absorption and clearance of macronutrient energy sources (fat, protein, carbohydrate). The times of day that were most consistent among individuals, and therefore most useful for cross-sectional studies, were fasting morning (0830–0930), postprandial afternoon (1430–1630), and nighttime samples (0430–0530). Importantly, the integrated picture of metabolism provided by1H-NMR spectroscopy of plasma suggests that this approach is suitable to study complex regulatory processes, including eating patterns/eating disorders, upper gastrointestinal functions (gastric emptying, pancreatic, biliary functions), and absorption/clearance of macronutrients. Hence,1H-NMR spectroscopy of plasma could provide a global metabolic tolerance test to assess complex processes involved in disease, including eating disorders and the range of physiological processes causing dysregulation of energy homeostasis.


Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisataka Iwata ◽  
Shu Hashimoto ◽  
Mayuko Ohota ◽  
Koji Kimura ◽  
Kenichi Shibano ◽  
...  

The concentrations of electrolytes (Na, K, Cl, Mg and Ca) and glucose in small follicle (SF) follicular fluid (SFF) and large follicle (LF) follicular fluid (LFF) from slaughterhouse-derived ovaries were studied. Oocytes were matured in medium based on synthetic oviductal fluid. The effects of various concentrations of electrolytes (Na, K, Ca and Mg) and glucose in the maturation medium on the progression of nuclear maturation and subsequent development were also studied. K in SFF was significantly greater than that in LFF. The Mg concentration in follicular fluid (FF) is 2.0–2.3 mM, which is greater than the concentration present in medium generally used for culture. The glucose concentration in FF is about 3.5–3.9 mM and rapidly decreases during the preservation of ovaries. LF oocytes resumed nuclear maturation and progressed to the M2 stage significantly faster than those collected from SF oocytes. In addition, more LF oocytes developed to blastocysts than did SF oocytes. Changing the Na/K ratio in the maturation medium from 16 to 24 did not affect either the progression of nuclear maturation or the rate of development. A low concentration of Mg (0.5 mM) combined with a low Ca concentration (0.5 mM) inhibited the rate of development, but did not affect the progression of nuclear maturation. On the other hand, increasing the Mg concentration to 2.0 mM from 0.5 mM hastened the progression of nuclear maturation and improved the rate of blastulation, irrespective of the Ca concentration. The progression of nuclear maturation was faster and the rate of development was greater with 5.56 mM glucose than with 1.5 mM glucose. The difference in time needed to progress to M2 among the experiment was about 2–3 h. Therefore, prolonging the maturation periods from 21 to 24 h did not change the rate of development. Our results show that the concentrations of Mg and glucose in the maturation medium and the follicle size enveloping the oocyte affect the progression of nuclear maturation and subsequent development. The time requirement for oocytes to reach M2 is strongly related to the developmental competence of the oocytes.


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