Efficient Gene Knockdown in Mouse Oocytes through Peptide Nanoparticle-Mediated SiRNA Transfection

The use of mouse oocytes as a model for studying female meiosis is very important in reproductive medicine. Gene knockdown by specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) is usually the first step in the study of the function of a target gene in mouse oocytes during in vitro maturation. Traditionally, the only way to introduce siRNA into mouse oocytes is through microinjection, which is certainly less efficient and strenuous than siRNA transfection in somatic cells. Recently, in research using somatic cells, peptide nanoparticle-mediated siRNA transfection has been gaining popularity over liposome nanoparticle-mediated methods because of its high efficiency, low toxicity, good stability, and strong serum compatibility. However, no researchers have yet tried transfecting siRNA into mouse oocytes because of the existence of the protective zona pellucida surrounding the oocyte membrane (vitelline membrane). We therefore tested whether peptide nanoparticles can introduce siRNA into mouse oocytes. In the present study, we showed for the first time that our optimized program can efficiently knock down a target gene with high specificity. Furthermore, we achieved the expected meiotic phenotypes after we knocked down a test unknown target gene TRIM75. We propose that peptide nanoparticles may be superior for preliminary functional studies of unknown genes in mouse oocytes.