Effect of Follicle Size on In Vitro Maturation of Pre-Pubertal Porcine Cumulus Oocyte Complexes

Very small follicles (<3.0 mm diameter) are over-represented on the surface of ovaries of non-cycling pigs, and the oocytes collected from these follicles generally have reduced developmental competence in vitro. This study examined the effect of follicle size on the nuclear maturation (n = 608), the potential of parthenogenetic activation (n = 243) and the cyclic AMP (cAMP) content of pre-pubertal porcine oocytes (n = 480). In addition, the influence of follicle size on steroid hormone synthesis was analysed. Cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) flushed from small (2.5-4.0 mm) or large (4.5-6.0 mm) ovarian follicles were cultured for 0, 28 and 46 h. After 46 h of IVM, a greater proportion of oocytes from 4.5- to 6.0-mm follicles reach metaphase II (MII) compared with those from follicles with 2.5-4.0 mm of diameter (96.1 vs 77.0%, respectively; p < 0.001). Parthenogenetic activation of oocytes from large follicles produced higher developmental rates than oocytes from large follicles (p < 0.05). At 28 h, the IVM medium with oocytes from large follicles contained significantly more 17ß-oestradiol (E2 ) than the medium with oocytes from small follicles (5.55 vs 3.45 ng/ml, respectively; p < 0.05) and at 46 h, the medium with oocytes from small follicles contained significantly more progesterone (P4 ) than the medium with oocytes from large follicles (276.7 vs 108.2 ng/ml, respectively, p < 0.05). Porcine oocytes from large follicles have higher nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation capacities, but the differences did not appear to be cAMP-mediated. Our findings also suggest that COCs from small follicles undergo more intensive luteinization than COCs from large follicles. The results show that oocytes from follicles with a diameter greater than 4.0 mm are more suitable for in vitro studies.