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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 68/3/812    most recent biolreprod.102.008656v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Combelles, C. M.H. Articles by Albertini, D. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Combelles, C. M.H. Articles by Albertini, D. F. Agricola Articles by Combelles, C. M.H. Articles by Albertini, D. F.

Assessment of Oocyte Quality Following Repeated Gonadotropin Stimulation in the Mouse¹

^a Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111

The present study assessed the effects of repeated ovarian stimulation on oocyte quality. Female mice were stimulated with eCG and hCG at 1-wk intervals for 4 wk. Germinal vesicle (GV)-stage oocytes were evaluated in relation to size, somatic cell association, and chromatin organization after each week of stimulation. In addition, ATP content and expression of meiotic competence were monitored in GV and in vivo (IVO) or in vitro (IVM)-matured oocytes. The developmental competence of ovulated oocytes was determined after in vitro fertilization and embryo culture, and reproductive outcome was evaluated after mating following repeated cycles of stimulation. In GV oocytes, the degree of somatic cell association, size, and timing of transcriptional repression were altered when comparing repeated with single cycle(s) of stimulation. Meiotic competence expression was unaffected for IVO oocytes while IVM oocytes exhibited a progressive decrease in meiotic competence with repeated stimulation. The ATP content of immature and IVO oocytes decreased with repeated stimulation. Although after one cycle of stimulation ATP content was lower in IVM than IVO oocytes, IVM oocytes exhibited stable levels of ATP across cycles of stimulation. Last, the in vitro developmental competence of IVO oocytes retrieved after repeated stimulation was not significantly different, and in vivo, similar implantation and resorption rates were observed following mating of animals subjected to repeated stimulation. Therefore, despite measurable consequences of repeated stimulation on specific parameters of follicular oocyte quality, compensatory mechanisms may exist in vivo to optimize the developmental competence of ovulated oocytes in the mouse.

¹ This work was supported by research grant 1-FY01-248 from the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. C.M.H.C. was supported in part by the NIH Training Program in Developmental Biology HD07403.

² Correspondence: David F. Albertini, Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111. FAX: 617 636 6536; e-mail: david.albertini{at}tufts.edu

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