Alpha-Linolenic Acid: It Contribute Regulation of Fertilization Capacity and Subsequent Development by Promoting of Cumulus Expansion during Maturation

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) during in vitro maturation (IVM) on cumulus expansion, nuclear maturation, fertilization capacity and subsequent development in porcine oocytes. The oocytes were incubated with 0, 25, 50, and 100 μM ALA. Cumulus expansion was measured at 22 h, and gene expresison and nuclear maturation were analyzed at 44 h after maturation. Then, mature oocytes with ALA were inseminated, and fertilization parameters and embryo development were evaluated. In results, both of cumulus expansion and nuclear maturation were increased in 50 μM ALA groups compared to control groups (p<0.05). However, expression of gap junction protein alpha 1 (GJA1, cumulus expansion-related gene), delta-6 desaturase (FADS1, fatty acid metabolism-related gene), and delta-5 desaturase (FADS2) mRNA in cumulus cells were reduced by 50 μM ALA treatment (p<0.05). Cleavage rate was enhanced in 25 and 50 μM ALA groups (p<0.05), especially, treatment of 50 μM ALA promoted early embryo develop to 4 and 8 cell stages (p<0.05). However, blastocyst formation and number of cells in blastocyst were not differ in 25 and 50 μM ALA groups. Our findings show that ALA treatment during maturation could improve nuclear maturation, fertilization, and early embryo development through enhancing of cumulus expansion, however, fatty acid metabolism- and cumulus expansion-related genes were down-regulated. Therefore, addition of ALA during IVM of oocytes could improve fertilization and developmental competence, and further studies regarding with the mechanism of ALA metabolism are needed.

Effects of Hyaluronidase during In Vitro Maturation on Maturation and Developmental Competence in Porcine Oocytes

“…PPARα (Calder et al, 2001;Salustri et al, 2004). Our previous study had shown that treatment of ALA during IVM of porcine oocytes enhanced cumulus expansion and reduced several gap junction and FAs metabolism genes (Lee et al, 2018). We expected that suppression of cumulus expansion could influenced to gene expression that are related with FAs metabolism and cumulus expansion.…”

“…In our previous study, cumulus expansion of porcine oocytes was enhanced by 50 μM alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) during in vitro maturation, and it was correspond with monospermic fertilization and improvement of early embryonic development (Lee et al, 2018). Auclair et al (2013) reported that amount of total lipid in bovine oocytes was lower in denuded oocytes than cumulus-enclosed oocytes and it suggested that role of cumulus layer is closely associated with lipid store and metabolism in oocytes.…”

Alpha-linolenic acid enhances maturation and developmental competence via regulation of glutathione, cAMP and fatty acid accumulation during in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes

“…Therefore, oocytes matured by in vitro are less likely to develop into the blastocyst stage (Gilchrist and Thompson, 2007) and induces higher rates of miscarriage compare with oocytes matured in vivo (Buckett et al, 2008). Accordingly, many studies have investigated the effect of supplements during in vitro oocyte maturation to improve embryonic development competence (Kwak et al, 2012;Lee et al, 2018).…”

“…Among them, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is one of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), present in spermatozoa, oocytes and follicles in mammals (Homa and Brown, 1992). The ALA improved embryonic development through the expansion of cumulus cells essential for maturation in pigs (Lee et al, 2018). In addition, ALAtreated COCs significantly increased the PGE2 concentration in the medium and regulated meiotic arrest at the germinal vesicle (GV) (Lee et al, 2018).…”

Bushen Tiaojing (II and III) Decoctions Activate MAPK14 and MAPK3/1 to Promote the Expression of Cumulus Expansion‐Related Factors in Mice

“…Cumulus expansion can also be used as a predictive indicator of in vitro fertilization outcomes [9][10][11]. erefore, cumulus expansion is an important parameter affecting the maturity of oocytes [12].…”