Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (1): 178-188.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.01.017

• ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND REPRODUCTION • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Forskolin on Lipid Degradation and Cryopreservation of Porcine Oocytes

CAI Shaoli1,2, XU Jiehuan2,3,4, HE Mengqian2, ZHANG Defu2,3,4, SUN Lingwei2,3,4, ZHANG Shushan2,3,4, LI Wanjun2, WU Caifeng2,3,4, ZHU Xing1*, DAI Jianjun2,3,4*   

  1. 1. College of Animal Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China;
    2. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China;
    3. Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Resources(Pig) Evaluation and Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai 201106, China;
    4. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Breeding Pig, Shanghai 201302, China
  • Received:2022-04-16 Online:2023-01-23 Published:2023-01-17

Abstract: The high lipid content of porcine oocytes is considered one of the most important factors for its low freezing efficiency. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of chemical lipid-lowering agent forskolin on the lipid degradation and anti-freezing ability of porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation. The content and ultrastructural changes of lipid droplets, mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species level, early apoptosis rate, survival rate and developmental potential of matured porcine oocytes with or without forskolin treatment were detected before and after vitrification. The results showed that forskolin treatment partially improve the maturation rate of oocytes, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The results of nile red fluorescence staining showed that the number and area of lipid droplets before and after vitrification in forskolin-treated oocytes were significantly lower than those untreated (P<0.01). Ultrastructural observation showed that the ratio of the number of heterogeneous lipid droplets to homogeneous lipid droplets in the oocytes treated with forskolin increased, and the area of heterogeneous lipid droplets was larger than that of homogeneous lipid droplets. The heterogeneous lipid droplets were irregularly distributed in oocytes after vitrification as the main lipid droplets form, of which became smaller and less in number. After forskolin treatment, the proportion of lipid droplets between heterogeneous and homogeneous further increased. Forskolin treatment also significantly increased the mitochondrial membrane potential of vitrified oocytes (1.04 vs. 0.51, P<0.01), alleviated oxidative stress and reduced early apoptosis rate (68.30% vs. 86.03%, P<0.01), which effectively improved the survival rate of vitrified oocytes (71.17% vs. 51.47%, P<0.01) and its cleavage rate after parthenogenetic activation (16.63 vs. 8.23%, P<0.05). In conclusion, the addition of forskolin during the in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes effectively reduced the content of intracellular lipids, and improved the survival rate and development ability after vitrification through alleviating oxidative damage and improving mitochondrial function.

Key words: porcine oocyte, cryopreservation, lipid, forskolin, mitochondrial function

CLC Number: