Androstenedione and follicle stimulating hormone involvement in the viability and development of goat preantral follicles in vitro
Animal Reproduction
Androstenedione and follicle stimulating hormone involvement in the viability and development of goat preantral follicles in vitro
Autor Correspondente: I B Lima-Verde | [email protected]
Palavras-chave: androstenedione, caprine, fsh, in vitro culture, ovarian follicles
Resumos Cadastrados
Resumo Inglês:
This study investigated the effects of androstenedione and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) on the viability and growth of caprine preantral follicles. Ovarian tissues were cultured for 1 or 7 days in Minimum Essential Medium (MEM+) containing androstenedione (0, 1, 10, 50, or 100 ng/ml), FSH (50 ng/ml), or a combination of these two hormones. Cultured and non-cultured control tissues were processed for histological and fluorescence analysis. In comparison with non-cultured control, a significant reduction was noted in the percentage of normal follicles in all treatments after 1 and 7 days of culture (except treatment with 1 ng/ml of androstenedione for 1 day). As the culture period progressed from 1 to 7 days, treatments with 10 ng/ml of androstenedione + FSH or 50 ng/ml of androstenedione alone maintained the percentage of normal follicles. After 1 day, treatments with 10, 50, or 100 ng/ml of androstenedione + FSH, or with 50 ng/ml of androstenedione alone had more developing follicles than fresh control tissue. When comparing the culture periods, treatments with 1, 10 or 100 ng/ml of androstenedione alone, or FSH alone, or FSH with 1 ng/ml of androstenedione, showed an increase in the percentage of developing follicles. After 1 and 7 days, there were no differences in oocyte and follicular diameter among the treated samples and non-cultured control or MEM+ cultured tissue. Fluorescence analysis demonstrated that only fragments cultured in 50 or 100 ng/ml of androstenedione + FSH had viable preantral follicles similar to those observed in MEM+ alone. In conclusion, androstenedione at 50 or 100 ng/ml, either associated with FSH or at 50 ng/ml alone, plays an important role in the maintenance of caprine preantral follicle viability and activation after only a short in vitro culture period. In addition, after 7 days MEM+ alone was efficient in the maintenance of viability and in follicular activation, showing the importance of basic medium composition.
