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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 296/5/E1049    most recent 90930.2008v1 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 Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nyholt de Prada, J. K. Articles by VandeVoort, C. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nyholt de Prada, J. K. Articles by VandeVoort, C. A.

Role for cumulus cell-produced EGF-like ligands during primate oocyte maturation in vitro

¹California National Primate Research Center and the Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, California; ²The Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; ³Department Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland; ⁴Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, California

Submitted 13 November 2008 ; accepted in final form 2 March 2009

The developmental competence of in vitro-matured (IVM) rhesus macaque cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) is deficient compared with in vivo-matured (IVM) oocytes. To improve oocyte quality and subsequent embryo development following IVM, culture conditions must be optimized. A series of experiments was undertaken to determine the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF) during IVM of rhesus macaque COCs. The addition of Tyrphostin AG-1478 (a selective inhibitor of the EGF receptor EGFR) to the IVM medium yielded fewer oocytes maturing to metaphase II of meiosis II (MII), decreased cumulus expansion, and a lower percentage of embryos that developed to the blastocyst stage compared with untreated IVM controls, indicating that EGFR activation is important for IVM maturation in the rhesus macaque. However, the addition of recombinant human EGF (r-hEGF) to the IVM medium did not enhance outcome. The expression of mRNAs encoding the EGF-like factors amphiregulin, epiregulin, and betacellulin in cumulus cells indicates that these factors produced by cumulus cells may be responsible for maximal EGFR activation during oocyte maturation, precluding any further effect of exogenous r-hEGF. Additionally, these results illustrate the potential futility of exogenous supplementation of IVM medium without prior knowledge of pathway activity.

rhesus monkey; follicle; ovary; gene expression; epidermal growth factor