Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026
In Vitro Culture Strategy for Oocytes from Early Antral Follicle in Cattle
Published on: July 8, 2020
Supplementation of lycopene in maturation media improves bovine embryo quality in vitro
M M R Chowdhury1, Byung-Hyun Choi2, Imran Khan2
1Department of Animal Science, Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus), Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Gyeongnam Province, Republic of Korea; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, 8210, Bangladesh.
Abstract:
This study sought to modulate factors that reduce embryo quality in in vitro culture (IVC) systems. Over eight replicates, 3075 oocytes were cultured in in vitro maturation media containing various concentrations of lycopene, followed by in vitro fertilization and culture. The percentages of MII-stage oocytes, the presumptive zygotes that underwent cleavage and developed into blastocysts were significantly (P < 0.05) higher, the intracellular ROS concentrations reduced significantly (P < 0.05) in oocytes/blastocysts, TUNEL assay demonstrates reduced apoptosis and increased total cell number per blastocyst (P < 0.05), Immunocytochemistry confirmed that diminished protein expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), and 8-oxoguanine (indicated by ROS) and relative mRNA expression of the Caspase-3, NFκB, COX2, iNOS and BCL2-associated X (BAX) was significantly (P < 0.05) lower whereas the anti-apoptotic gene BCL2 was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the 0.2 μM lycopene-supplemented group than the control. In conclusion, lycopene improves blastocyst quality by overcoming unfavorable conditions in in vitro culture systems.
