• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2006

The growing oocytes become progressively capable of resuming meiosis, and full meiotic competence appear when they are about 80% of the size of fully grown oocytes. As hormonal influences vary at different stages of reproductive cycle, the size of oocytes may vary according to the reproductive stages. The present study was designed to compare the diameter between the ovulated and freshly collected immature canine oocytes. The ovulated oocytes were collected 72 hr after ovulation by oviductal tube flushing by laparotomy under general anesthesia. Immature oocytes were collected by ovarian slicing method. Diameter of all oocytes was measured directly using epiflurescence microscope with a calibrated micro-eyepiece micrometer at ${\times}200$ magnification. The thickness of zona pellucida and diameter of cytoplasm were measured separately and recorded. A total of 2209 zona intact oocytes were collected, among them 628 from anestrus, 675 from follicular, 838 from luteal and 68 by fallopian tubes flushing methods. The average number of oocytes was 104.7, 168.8, 119.7 and 11.3 for anestrus, follicular, luteal and fallopian tubes flushing methods, respectively. The average diameters of the ooplasm and oocyte were significantly varied in different reproductive stages as well as with ovulated oocytes (P<0.05). The average diameter of ooplasm and oocyte was 115.6 and 127.7, 143.0 and 162.0, 134.6 and 150.6, 159.6 and 185.6 for anestrus, follicular, luteal and ovulated oocytes, respectively. Highest number of oocytes with larger diameter could be collected from the follicular and luteal stages. In conclusion, the follicular and luteal ovaries are the best sources of oocytes for canine IVM.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.297-302
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• 2006

We investigated gonadal development and sex ratio of artificial seedlings of the oblong rockfish Sebastes oblongus, based on samplings for 370 days just after parturition. The primordial germ cells and genital ridge appeared separately under the mesentery in the yolk-sac stage larva (total length: 7.10-7.77 mm) just after parturition. The primordial germ cells and genital ridge integrated to form primordial gonad in 5-day-old larvae (7.12-9.68 mm), and then proliferation of somatic cell and germ cell occurred in the gonad, which was maintained undifferentiated until 45-days after parturition (18.6-20.4 mm). The ovarian differentiation began in the larva of 50-days old (dab) after parturition (dap) (20.0-24.5 mm). The somatic tissues elongated from the both opposite end-sites of undifferentiated gonad were consequently fused and formed a complete ovarian cavity at 60-days old dap (25.5-32.0 mm). In 80-days old dap (37.3-47.2 mm), meiosis of oogonia occurred to be chromatin nucleolus stage oocyte. The perinucleolus stage oocytes appeared at in 130-days old dap (68.0-86.0 mm), and previtellogenic stage oocytes appeared in 370-days old dap (101.0-116.0 mm). Only female was observed in the artificially produced oblong rockfish in the present study. This result revealed the effect of higher temperature on the sex determination of the oblong rockfish..

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.293-303
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• 2007

Objective: Previously, we identified differentially expressed genes between GV and MII stage mouse oocytes using ACP technology. When we study one of GV selective genes, Obox family, we found Obox4 mRNA expression in ovaries that has been reported as expressed exclusively in testis. Therefore, this study was conducted for characterization and functional analysis for Obox4. Methods: Expression of Obox4 mRNA was examined in gonads and oocytes by RT-PCR. To determine the role of Obox4 in oocyte maturation, Obox4 dsRNA was microinjected into the cytoplasm of GV oocytes followed by 16 h of incubation in the plain medium or by 24 h of incubation in the medium containing IBMX. After RNAi, phenotypes and maturation rates were observed, change in mRNA expression was evaluated, and chromosomal status was confirmed by orcein staining. Results: Obox4 has minimal expression in the ovary compared to that of the other family members. When oocytes were cultured for 16 h in M16 medium after RNAi, maturation rate was not changed significantly, compared with that of non-injected or buffer-injected control oocytes. Surprisingly, however, when oocytes were cultured for 24 h in M16 containing IBMX, in which oocytes were supposed to arrest at GV stage, Obox4 RNAi oocytes were advanced to MI and MII. Spindle structure was disappeared and the chromosomes were condensed in the oocytes after Obox4 RNAi. Conclusions: This is the first report on the expression of Obox4 in the ovary and oocytes. Results of the study suggest that Obox4 plays a crucial role in spindle formation and chromosome segregation during meiosis in oocytes. In addition, Obox4 may play an important role in cAMP-dependent signal cascades of GV-arrest in mouse oocytes.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2011

Previously, we have shown that Bcl2l10 as a member of Bcl-2 family, key regulators of the apoptotic process, is dominantly expressed in oocytes of ovary but several member of the Bcl-2 family are not expressed in oocytes. Recent our studies had been processed about roles and regulatory mechanisms of Bcl2l10 in oocytes. Microinjection of Bcl2l10 RNAi into the cytoplasm of germinal vesicle oocytes resulted in metaphase I (MI) arrest and exhibited abnormalities in their spindles and chromosome configurations (Yoon et al., 2009). The present study was conducted to elucidate the downstream genes regulated by Bcl2l10 and signaling networks in Bcl2l10 RNAi microinjected oocytes by using microarray analysis. Surprisingly, we found that a large proportion of genes regulated by Bcl2l10 RNAi were involved in the cell cycle and actin skeletal system regulation as important upstream genes of Bcl2l10. Among the transcripts with highly significant fold changes more than 2-fold, Tpx2 and Cep192 are 16.1- and 8.2-fold down regulated respectively by Bcl2l10 RNAi. Tpx2 and Cep192 are known as cofactors that control Aurora A kinase activity and localization. Therefore, we concluded that Bcl2l10 may have important roles during oocyte meiosis as functional upstream regulator of Tpx2 and Cep192.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.975-984
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• 2021

Objective: Inbreeding depression of reproduction is a major concern in the conservation of native chicken genetic resources. Here, based on the successful development of strongly inbred (Sinb) and weakly inbred (Winb) Langshan chickens, we aimed to evaluate inbreeding effects on reproductive traits and identify candidate genes involved in inbreeding depression of reproduction in Langshan chickens. Methods: A two-sample t-test was performed to estimate the differences in phenotypic values of reproductive traits between Sinb and Winb chicken groups. Three healthy chickens with reproductive trait values around the group mean values were selected from each of the groups. Differences in ovarian and hypothalamus transcriptomes between the two groups of chickens were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Results: The Sinb chicken group showed an obvious inbreeding depression in reproduction, especially for traits of age at the first egg and egg number at 300 days (p<0.01). Furthermore, 68 and 618 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the hypothalamus and ovary between the two chicken groups, respectively. In the hypothalamus, DEGs were mainly enriched in the pathways related to vitamin metabolism, signal transduction and development of the reproductive system, such as the riboflavin metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction and focal adhesion pathways, including stimulated by retinoic acid 6, serpin family F member 1, secreted frizzled related protein 2, Wnt family member 6, and frizzled class receptor 4 genes. In the ovary, DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways associated with basic metabolism, including amino acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and glycosaminoglycan degradation. A series of key DEGs involved in folate biosynthesis (gamma-glutamyl hydrolase, guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1), oocyte meiosis and ovarian function (cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 1, structural maintenance of chromosomes 1B, and speedy/RINGO cell cycle regulator family member A), spermatogenesis and male fertility (prostaglandin D2 synthase 21 kDa), Mov10 RISC complex RNA helicase like 1, and deuterosome assembly protein 1) were identified, and these may play important roles in inbreeding depression in reproduction. Conclusion: The results improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying inbreeding depression in chicken reproduction and provide a theoretical basis for the conservation of species resources.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 2019

In recent years, progress has been made in the search for the development of new anti-cancer agents by employing specific inhibitors of histone deacetylase (HDAC)-6 to block signal transduction pathways in cancer cells. This study examined the effects of tubastatin A (TubA), an HDAC-6 inhibitor, on the growth and development of immature oocytes in murine ovaries using RNA sequencing analysis. The results from a gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) indicated that the expression of most of the gene sets involved in the cell cycle and control and progression of meiosis decreased in the TubA-treated group as compared with that in germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes. In addition, an ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) suggested that TubA not only caused increased expression of p53 and pRB and decreased expression of CDK4/6 and cyclin D but also caused elevated expression of genes involved in the control of the DNA check point in G2/M stage oocytes. These results suggest that TubA may induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through the induction of changes in the expression of genes involved in signal transduction pathways associated with DNA damage and the cell cycle of immature oocytes in the ovary.