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Supplementation of the In Vitro Maturation Culture Medium of Mouse Oocytes with Growth Hormone Improves Pregnancy Outcomes

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Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effects of adding growth hormone (GH) into the in vitro maturation (IVM) culture medium of mouse oocytes on pregnancy outcomes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured in a medium with (GH group, 100 ng/mL) or without (Con group) GH. Thereafter, chromosome morphology, spindle morphology, and mitochondrial function were examined. Embryo development and blastocyst quality after in vitro fertilization were evaluated. After the embryo transfer, the implantation sites and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated. The oocyte maturation rate of the GH group (81.8 ± 9.6%) was compared to that of the Con group (81.3 ± 6.9%, P = 0.928). The proportion of morphologically abnormal spindles in GH-treated oocytes (7.1 ± 0.9%) was significantly lower than control oocytes (13.7 ± 1.3%, P = 0.032), whereas the proportion of morphologically abnormal chromosomes and mitochondrial distribution was similar between the groups. The mitochondrial membrane potential (P < 0.001) and ATP concentration (P < 0.001) in GH-exposed oocytes were higher than those in control oocytes. After fertilization, the blastocyst rate in the GH group (33.8 ± 13.2%) was significantly higher than the Con group (16.2 ± 2.0%, P = 0.003). In addition, inner cell mass (ICM) number (13.91 ± 3.48 vs. 7.00 ± 1.91, P < 0.001), total cell number (47.45 ± 8.39 vs. 37.71 ± 4.15, P = 0.007), and the ratio of ICM/total cell number (29.9 ± 8.2% vs. 18.6 ± 5.0%, P = 0.002) of blastocyst were all higher in GH group. The implantation rate (71.2 ± 1.9% vs. 39.4 ± 16.4%, P < 0.001) and litter size (8.50 ± 3.99 vs. 3.00 ± 1.22, P = 0.018) were significantly higher in the GH group. Although addition of GH into IVM culture medium does not improve oocyte maturation rate, it improves oocyte and embryo quality, which leads to better embryo development and pregnancy outcomes.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Tianjie Li, Qingyuan Qin, and Qianying Guo for the help in the study and thank International Science Editing for their help in improving the quality of English written.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research & Developmental Program of China (2017YFC1001504), Key Clinical Program of Peking University Third Hospital (BYSY2015002), and National Key Research & Developmental Program of China (2018YFC1003802).

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Author notes

  1. Caihong Ma and Jinliang Zhu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China

    Bingteng Xie, Xiaoxue Li, Rong Li, Caihong Ma, Jinliang Zhu & Jie Qiao

  2. National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing, 100191, China

    Bingteng Xie, Xiaoxue Li, Rong Li, Caihong Ma, Jinliang Zhu & Jie Qiao

  3. Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100191, China

    Bingteng Xie, Xiaoxue Li & Jie Qiao

  4. Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Beijing, 100191, China

    Bingteng Xie, Xiaoxue Li & Jie Qiao

  5. Department of Reproductive Center, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518036, China

    Yihua Lin

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  1. Yihua Lin
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Correspondence to Jinliang Zhu.

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This study was approved by the Institutional Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee Policies of Peking University Health Science Center (protocol no. LA2018256). The approval file has been uploaded.

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Lin, Y., Xie, B., Li, X. et al. Supplementation of the In Vitro Maturation Culture Medium of Mouse Oocytes with Growth Hormone Improves Pregnancy Outcomes. Reprod. Sci. 28, 2540–2549 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-021-00507-4

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