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Fiorentino G, Merico V, Zanoni M, Comincini S, Sproviero D, Garofalo M, Gagliardi S, Cereda C, Lin CJ, Innocenti F, Taggi M, Vaiarelli A, Ubaldi FM, Rienzi L, Cimadomo D, Garagna S, Zuccotti M. Extracellular vesicles secreted by cumulus cells contain microRNAs that are potential regulatory factors of mouse oocyte developmental competence. Mol Hum Reprod 2024; 30:gaae019. [PMID: 38745364 DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gaae019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The role of cumulus cells (CCs) in the acquisition of oocyte developmental competence is not yet fully understood. In a previous study, we matured cumulus-denuded fully-grown mouse oocytes to metaphase II (MII) on a feeder layer of CCs (FL-CCs) isolated from developmentally competent (FL-SN-CCs) or incompetent (FL-NSN-CCs) SN (surrounded nucleolus) or NSN (not surrounding nucleolus) oocytes, respectively. We observed that oocytes cultured on the former could develop into blastocysts, while those matured on the latter arrested at the 2-cell stage. To investigate the CC factors contributing to oocyte developmental competence, here we focused on the CCs' release into the medium of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and on their miRNA content. We found that, during the 15-h transition to MII, both FL-SN-CCs and FL-NSN-CCs release EVs that can be detected, by confocal microscopy, inside the zona pellucida (ZP) or the ooplasm. The majority of EVs are <200 nm in size, which is compatible with their ability to cross the ZP. Next-generation sequencing of the miRNome of FL-SN-CC versus FL-NSN-CC EVs highlighted 74 differentially expressed miRNAs, with 43 up- and 31 down-regulated. Although most of these miRNAs do not have known roles in the ovary, in silico functional analysis showed that seven of these miRNAs regulate 71 target genes with specific roles in meiosis resumption (N = 24), follicle growth (N = 23), fertilization (N = 1), and the acquisition of oocyte developmental competence (N = 23). Overall, our results indicate CC EVs as emerging candidates of the CC-to-oocyte communication axis and uncover a group of miRNAs as potential regulatory factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Fiorentino
- Laboratory of Biology and Biotechnology of Reproduction, Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Valeria Merico
- Laboratory of Biology and Biotechnology of Reproduction, Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Mario Zanoni
- Laboratory of Biology and Biotechnology of Reproduction, Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Sergio Comincini
- Functional Genomics Laboratory, Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Daisy Sproviero
- IFOM, IFOM-The FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Garofalo
- Molecular Biology and Transcriptomics Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Stella Gagliardi
- Molecular Biology and Transcriptomics Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Cristina Cereda
- Department of Pediatrics, Center of Functional Genomics and Rare Diseases, Buzzi Children's Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Chih-Jen Lin
- Centre for Reproductive Health, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Federica Innocenti
- IVIRMA Global Research Alliance, GENERA, Clinica Valle Giulia, Rome, Italy
| | - Marilena Taggi
- IVIRMA Global Research Alliance, GENERA, Clinica Valle Giulia, Rome, Italy
| | - Alberto Vaiarelli
- IVIRMA Global Research Alliance, GENERA, Clinica Valle Giulia, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Laura Rienzi
- IVIRMA Global Research Alliance, GENERA, Clinica Valle Giulia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino "Carlo Bo", Urbino, Italy
| | - Danilo Cimadomo
- IVIRMA Global Research Alliance, GENERA, Clinica Valle Giulia, Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Garagna
- Laboratory of Biology and Biotechnology of Reproduction, Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Maurizio Zuccotti
- Laboratory of Biology and Biotechnology of Reproduction, Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Lazzaro Spallanzani', University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Feng X, Li C, Zhang H, Zhang P, Shahzad M, Du W, Zhao X. Heat-Stress Impacts on Developing Bovine Oocytes: Unraveling Epigenetic Changes, Oxidative Stress, and Developmental Resilience. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4808. [PMID: 38732033 PMCID: PMC11084174 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Extreme temperature during summer may lead to heat stress in cattle and compromise their productivity. It also poses detrimental impacts on the developmental capacity of bovine budding oocytes, which halt their fertility. To mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress, it is necessary to investigate the mechanisms through which it affects the developmental capacity of oocytes. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the impact of heat stress on the epigenetic modifications in bovine oocytes and embryos, as well as on oocyte developmental capacity, reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential, apoptosis, transzonal projections, and gene expression levels. Our results showed that heat stress significantly reduced the expression levels of the epigenetic modifications from histone H1, histone H2A, histone H2B, histone H4, DNA methylation, and DNA hydroxymethylation at all stages of the oocyte and embryo. Similarly, heat stress significantly reduced cleavage rate, blastocyst rate, oocyte mitochondrial-membrane potential level, adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) level, mitochondrial DNA copy number, and transzonal projection level. It was also found that heat stress affected mitochondrial distribution in oocytes and significantly increased reactive oxygen species, apoptosis levels and mitochondrial autophagy levels. Our findings suggest that heat stress significantly impacts the expression levels of genes related to oocyte developmental ability, the cytoskeleton, mitochondrial function, and epigenetic modification, lowering their competence during the summer season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyi Feng
- Institute of Animal Sciences (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China; (X.F.); (C.L.); (H.Z.); (P.Z.); (M.S.); (W.D.)
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Qingdao Agricultural University (QAU), Qingdao 266000, China
| | - Chongyang Li
- Institute of Animal Sciences (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China; (X.F.); (C.L.); (H.Z.); (P.Z.); (M.S.); (W.D.)
| | - Hang Zhang
- Institute of Animal Sciences (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China; (X.F.); (C.L.); (H.Z.); (P.Z.); (M.S.); (W.D.)
| | - Peipei Zhang
- Institute of Animal Sciences (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China; (X.F.); (C.L.); (H.Z.); (P.Z.); (M.S.); (W.D.)
| | - Muhammad Shahzad
- Institute of Animal Sciences (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China; (X.F.); (C.L.); (H.Z.); (P.Z.); (M.S.); (W.D.)
| | - Weihua Du
- Institute of Animal Sciences (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China; (X.F.); (C.L.); (H.Z.); (P.Z.); (M.S.); (W.D.)
| | - Xueming Zhao
- Institute of Animal Sciences (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China; (X.F.); (C.L.); (H.Z.); (P.Z.); (M.S.); (W.D.)
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Saadeldin IM, Moulavi F, Swelum AAA, Khorshid SS, Hamid HF, Hosseini SM. Vitrification of camel oocytes transiently impacts mitochondrial functions without affecting the developmental potential after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and parthenogenetic activation. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2020; 27:44604-44613. [PMID: 33029771 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11070-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Oocyte vitrification preserves the female genetic resources of elite dromedary camels. In the current study, we aimed to explore the effects of vitrification of camel oocytes on mitochondrial activity, redox stress, and expression of genes related to mitochondrial function, apoptosis, pluripotency, and cytoskeleton. Moreover, we investigated developmental competence of vitrified oocytes after parthenogenetic activation. Oocytes vitrified with the Cryotop method were compared with the fresh oocytes. Our results showed that vitrification led to increased ROS production in oocytes as evidenced by an increase in the DCFDHA fluorescence intensity, and lower mitochondrial activity. At the molecular level, vitrification reduced mRNA expression of many genes, including those related to mitochondrial function (TFAM, MT-CO1, MFN1, ATP1A1, NRF1), pluripotency (SOX2 and POU5F1), and apoptosis (p53 and BAX). In contrast, expression of KLF4 and cytoskeleton-related genes (ACTB and KRT8) was not affected. However, we found no difference in the rates of oocyte survival, cleavage, and blastocyst development, and blastocyst hatching between fresh and vitrified oocytes after warming. Our results indicate that although vitrification of camel metaphase II (MII) oocytes adversely affected mitochondrial functions, the effect was transient without compromising the developmental potential of the oocytes after parthenogenetic activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Islam M Saadeldin
- Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
| | - Fariba Moulavi
- Department of Embryology, Camel Advanced Reproductive Technologies Centre, Government of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ayman Abdel-Aziz Swelum
- Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt
| | - Sokhangouy Saiede Khorshid
- Department of Embryology, Camel Advanced Reproductive Technologies Centre, Government of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Hossini-Fahraji Hamid
- Department of Embryology, Camel Advanced Reproductive Technologies Centre, Government of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Sayyed Morteza Hosseini
- Department of Embryology, Camel Advanced Reproductive Technologies Centre, Government of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Huo Y, Qin Q, Zhang L, Kuo Y, Wang H, Yan L, Li R, Zhang X, Yan J, Qiao J. Effects of oocyte vitrification on the behaviors and physiological indexes of aged first filial generation mice. Cryobiology 2020; 95:20-28. [PMID: 32598946 DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2020.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
To evaluate the long-term effects of oocyte cryopreservation on the health of the first filial generation (F1), we used B6D2F1 mice for oocyte collection, in vitro fertilization, and breeding. The female F1 mice born from the offspring of fresh mature oocytes (control group) and from the offspring of vitrified oocytes with traditional vitrification medium (VM group) and new improved vitrification medium (2P10E7D group) were maintained until 14-15 months of age for behavioral tests and 16-17 months of age for physiological analyses. Behavioral indexes, including anxiety-like status, discrimination ability, learning and memory ability, were investigated. Physiological indexes including body weight, body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood lipids were also analyzed. In our results, the behavioral indexes, body weight, body fat, heart rate, blood pressure, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) did not show significant differences among the three groups. However, the triglyceride (TG) level of the VM group was higher than that of the 2P10E7D group. Moreover, compared with the control group, both the VM group and the 2P10E7D group showed greatly increased diastolic blood pressure. This study is the first to report that oocyte vitrification might affect metabolic physiological indexes via transgenerational inheritance rather than behaviors related to anxiety-like status and cognitive ability. Furthermore, different vitrification media might have differential transgenerational effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Huo
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China; Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Qingyuan Qin
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Ying Kuo
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Haiyan Wang
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Liying Yan
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Rong Li
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xiaowei Zhang
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Jie Yan
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Jie Qiao
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproduction, Beijing, 100191, China; Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China; Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; National Clinical Research Center of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing, 100191, China
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Vitrification leads to transcriptomic modifications of mice ovaries that do not affect folliculogenesis progression. Reprod Biol 2020; 20:264-272. [PMID: 32044207 DOI: 10.1016/j.repbio.2020.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is emerging as a promising alternative for fertility preservation of cancer survivors. To date, more than a hundred couples have successfully had babies using this procedure, although it is still considered experimental and demands further investigation. In this work, we evaluated the effects of vitrification, warming and autotransplantation procedures on the morphology and gene expression of murine ovaries. Ovaries were removed from adult female C57BL6 mice (n = 15), vitrified, warmed and autotransplanted (vitrified group), additionally, ovaries were autotransplanted without vitrification (control group, n = 15). After twenty days, grafted ovaries were harvested and used for histological and ultrastructural analysis, germinal vesicle (GV) oocyte collection, RNA sequencing, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). All classes of follicles and GV were observed in both control and vitrified/warmed transplanted ovaries, and the numbers of primordial, antral and atretic follicles were not different (p > 0.05). Using RNA-seq, we detected 16,602 vs 13,527 expressed genes in vitrified and control ovaries, respectively; and 623 significantly dysregulated genes (fold change >1.5; 332 up-regulated and 291 down-regulated). Cellular membranes, cytoskeletons, and extracellular matrices were found as the main functions of the differentially expressed genes. Moreover, vitrified samples also presented ultrastructural alterations in the cytoskeleton, cell junctions, and endoplasmic reticulum. Taken together, this work showed for the first time that ovarian cells might trigger a compensatory gene regulation mechanism to maintain cellular structure and folliculogenesis progression after vitrification and autotransplantation.
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