Macromolecules Influence Cellular Competence and Expression Level of <i>IGFs</i> Genes in Bovine Oocytes In Vitro

In vitro maturation (IVM) of mammalian oocytes, which influences subsequent in vitro development of embryos, is affected by the macromolecule content in culture media for the success of oocyte maturation competence, in which the cytoplasmic and nuclear reprogramming events occur. The insulin-like growth factor family (IGFs) promotes the maturation of bovine oocytes and the expansion of cumulus cells and also inhibits apoptosis. This study was, therefore, designed to examine the effects of macromolecules (bovine serum albumin, BSA; fetal calf serum, FCS; and polyvinyl alcohol, PVA) on in vitro nuclear maturation, total cellular protein, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzyme activity, and the gene expression level of IGF1, IGF2, and their receptor in bovine oocytes. Oocytes obtained from bovine ovaries were cultured in bicarbonate-buffered medium 199 supplemented with 4 mg/mL BSA, 10% FCS, 1 mg/mL PVA, and without macromolecule supplement (control) during 22 h in the air with a humidified atmosphere and 5% CO2 at 38.5 °C temperature. Supplementation of BSA and FCS increased (χ2 = 9.84; p p p IGF1 gene was not detected in all experimental groups, but the supplementation of BSA and FCS significantly elevated the transcript level of the IGF2 gene. In addition, the maturation of oocytes with BSA-supplemented media increased the transcript level of the IGF1R gene, whereas the transcript level of the IGF2R gene was similar among macromolecule supplementation groups. The current study concluded that BSA and FCS could improve in vitro bovine oocyte development due to supporting nuclear maturation and increasing the total cellular protein content, GPx enzyme, and transcript activity