Melatonin loaded PLGA nanoparticles effectively ameliorate the in vitro maturation of deteriorated oocytes and the cryoprotective abilities during vitrification process

Abstract

A strategy for effectively improving oocyte quality and cryotolerance during vitrification via nanoparticle-mediated melatonin delivery is reported.

Superior performance of biocomposite nanoparticles PLGA-RES in protecting oocytes against vitrification stimuli

“…In this study, we applied PLGA-RES to the vitrification and thawing medium, and investigated its effect on oocytes quality. We found that the survival rate was markedly increased when oocytes were treated with NPs during vitrification, which was in similar with the previous finding that melatonin encapsulated in PLGA was efficacious in mouse GV oocytes vitrification ( Lee et al, 2023 ). Moreover, the effect of PLGA-RES on oxidative stress was evaluated, and the results showed that the ROS level was reduced while GSH content was increased in oocytes treated with PLGA-RES during vitrification.…”

“…It has been shown that autophagy plays a protective role in oocytes during vitrification and IVM, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is involved in regulating the autophagic activity of oocytes during vitrification and IVM, which is similar to our findings ( Zhang et al, 2020 ). In addition, our result was also similar with the previous study that PLGA-melatonin was more effective in reducing DNA and mitochondrial damages compared with the free drug treatment due to the controlled release of melatonin ( Lee et al, 2023 ). Last but not least, as indicated in Figure 11 , we speculate that PLGA-RES are incorporated into oocytes through endocytosis, then the released NPs maintain mitochondrial function by elevating ULK3 , a down-stream target of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.…”

“…PLGA-RES was synthesized and embellished by water-in-oilin-water solvent evaporation technique (Lee et al, 2023). Simply put, the PLGA and RES were dissolved in dichloromethane under Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology frontiersin.org continuous agitation to obtain a mixture.…”

“…Yaa et al found that superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 could protect GV stage oocytes from cryoinjury and increase the expression levels of genes (OCT4, SOX2 and CDX2) related to cell pluripotency and differentiation ( Abbasi et al, 2021 ). In addition, it was found that the addition of polylactic acid-coated melatonin to Etoposide (ETP) not only reduced DNA damage, increased ATP levels, maintained mitochondrial distribution, but also increased the maturation rate of oocytes after vitrification ( Lee et al, 2023 ). Since the hydrophobic property mainly accounts for the unstable activity of RES, we hypothesized that the disadvantages of traditional antioxidant would be ameliorated by the use of polymeric nanocarriers.…”