- 作者：Claudia Maria Corn ; Cornelia Hauser-Kronberger ; Marianne Moser ; Gernot Tews ; Thomas Ebner
- 关键词：Apoptosis ; blastocyst development ; cumulus cells ; oocyte maturity ; TUNEL assay
- 刊名：Fertility and Sterility
- 出版年：2005
- 出版时间：September 2005
- 年：2005
- 卷：84
- 期：3
- 页码：627-633
- 全文大小：135 K
Objective
To test if a high degree of apoptosis in cumulus cells could indicate diminished oocyte quality and developmental competence.Design
Prospective analysis.
Setting
Public hospital and university.
Patient(s)
Thirty seven women who gave written consent to participate in this study.
Intervention(s)
Cumulus–oocyte complexes were denuded separately and the resulting cumulus cell suspensions were analyzed for presence of apoptosis using a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated digoxigenin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay detection kit.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Percentage of apoptotic cumulus cells and blastocyst formation rate.
Result(s)
Younger patients (≤35 years) showed significantly fewer apoptotic cumulus cells than older ones. In all patients gamete maturity was shown to be highly correlated to the rate of apoptosis in cumulus cells. At zygote and cleavage stages (days 1 to 4) no morphologic features were related to the degree of programmed cell death. However, blastocyst development was predictable taking into account the percentage of apoptosis in associated somatic cells. In addition, there was a trend toward better quality blastocysts from follicles with a lower rate of apoptotic cells. No influence on pregnancy and implantation rate was observed.
Conclusion(s)
Apoptotic processes within follicles seem to impair oocyte maturation. Though not manifested in the morphologic appearance, gametes and embryos derived from cumulus complexes with no or minor apoptosis have an increased chance of giving rise to optimal blastocysts.