| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
For a long time, the researches related to reproductive technologies has been obstructed
by the insufficient quantity of fully-grown oocytes. Therefore, it is essential to establish a
culture system of in vitro growth (IVG) for harvesting the abundant source of growing
oocytes from ovary for further application in assisted reproductive techniques. However,
the efficiency of pre-existing IVG remains remarkably low due to one of major threats,
which is oxidative stress. A powerful antioxidant, Melatonin, which has been applied in
human is predicted to enhance IVG outcomes through the preventive effect against
oxidative stress. This research aims to evaluate the effect of melatonin during IVG on the
growth, meiotic competence, development competence and gene expression of porcine
oocyte-cumulus-granulosa complexes (OCGCs) derived from early antral follicles (1-
1.5mm). OCGCs were cultured in IVG with melatonin supplementation of four
concentrations (0 μM, 1 μM, 10 μM, 100 μM) for 4 days. The oocyte diameter, survival
rate after IVG, and subsequently the meiotic competence after 42 hours of IVM were
assessed. Moreover, the parthenogenetic embryos were generated from oocytes and
culture in vitro development (IVD) for 7 days (blastocyst stage) to assessed developmental
competence of oocytes as well as gene expression of pluripotent and apoptotic genes in
blastocyst. The results expressed that growing oocytes treated with 10 μM melatonin
acquired the highest significant improvement in meiotic competence and developmental
competence compared with the oocytes in non-melatonin group in every aspect including
morphology, average diameter, survival percentage, and maturation percentage. In
conclusion, melatonin supplementation in IVG at 10 μM has the best enhancement on the
growth and meiotic competence of oocytes from early antral follicles | en_US |
