The effect of hypoxanthine on mouse oocyte growth and development in vitro: maintenance of meiotic arrest and gonadotropin-induced oocyte maturation.

Authors

J J. EppigFollow
S M. Downs

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1987

Keywords

Cells-Cultured, Female, FSH, Gonadotropins-Chorionic, Granulosa-Cells: ph, Hypoxanthines, LH, Meiosis: de, Mice, Mice-Inbred-C57BL, Oocytes: de, gd, SUPPORT-U-S-GOVT-P-H-S

First Page

313

Last Page

321

JAX Location

1322

JAX Source

Dev-Biol. 1987 Feb; 119(2):313-21.

Grant

HD20575

Abstract

The concentration of hypoxanthine in mouse follicular fluid has been estimated to be 2-4 mM, and although this concentration maintains meiotic arrest in fully grown mouse oocytes in vitro, oocyte maturation in vivo is not induced by a decrease in the concentration of this purine in follicular fluid (J. J. Eppig, P. F. Ward-Bailey, and D. L. Coleman, Biol. Reprod. 33, 1041-1049, 1985). In the present study, the effect of 2 mM hypoxanthine on oocyte growth and development in vitro was assessed and the ability of gonadotropins to stimulate oocyte maturation in the continued presence of hypoxanthine was determined. Oocyte-granulosa cell complexes were isolated from 10- to 11-day-old mice and cultured in the presence or absence of 2 mM hypoxanthine. Oocytes from 10- to 11-day-old mice are in mid-growth phase and, without further development, are incompetent of undergoing meiotic maturation. During a 12-day culture period the granulosa cell-enclosed oocytes approximately doubled in size and, regardless of the presence or absence of hypoxanthine, 50-70% developed competence to undergo germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). Hypoxanthine promoted the continued association of oocytes with their companion granulosa cells during the 12-day culture period, and therefore had a beneficial effect on oocyte development. Most of the oocytes that acquired GVBD competence in the absence of hypoxanthine underwent spontaneous GVBD. In contrast, 95% of the GVBD-competent oocytes were maintained in meiotic arrest by hypoxanthine. Following withdrawal of the hypoxanthine after the 12-day culture, 75% of the GVBD-competent oocytes underwent GVBD. These results show that hypoxanthine, and/or its metabolites, maintains meiotic arrest in oocytes that grow and acquire GVBD competence in vitro. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), but not luteinizing hormone or human chorionic gonadotropin, induced oocyte GVBD in the continued presence of hypoxanthine. FSH stimulated oocyte maturation at a significantly (P less than 0.01) higher frequency than coculture of the granulosa cell-denuded oocytes with granulosa cells in the continued presence of hypoxanthine. FSH did not induce the maturation of denuded oocytes cocultured with granulosa cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Recommended Citation

Eppig JJ, Downs SM. The effect of hypoxanthine on mouse oocyte growth and development in vitro: maintenance of meiotic arrest and gonadotropin-induced oocyte maturation. Dev-Biol. 1987 Feb; 119(2):313-21.