title: Age-associated deterioration in follicular fluid induces a decline in bovine oocyte quality.
abstract: Maternal age affects the quality of oocytes. The present study examined whether follicular fluid (FF) is a casual factor for age-associated decline in oocyte quality. First, we measured the concentration of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) in FF derived from young (21-45 months; Young-FF) and aged (≥120 months; Aged-FF) cows and found significantly higher concentrations of AGE in Aged-FF than Young-FF. Second, oocytes were collected from ovaries of young or aged cows and cultured in maturation medium containing 10% FF derived from young or aged cows. Regardless of oocyte origin, Aged-FF accelerated nuclear maturation progression and gap junction closure between oocytes and cumulus cells, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and the rate of abnormal fertilisation of oocytes and decreased blastulation rate compared with Young-FF. Furthermore, supplementation of maturation medium with AGE induced similar age-associated events in oocytes derived from young cows, in that AGE accelerated the progression of nuclear maturation, increased ROS content in oocytes, increased the rate of abnormal fertilisation and decreased blastulation rate. In conclusion, maternal aging increased the concentration of AGE in FF, and both AGE and Aged-FF accelerated nuclear maturation and reduced the developmental competence of oocytes.
authors.affiliation: Tokyo University of Agriculture, Funako 1737, Atsugi Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan.
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology, Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Tokyo University of Agriculture, Funako 1737, Atsugi Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan.
authors.forename: Koumei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirasuna
authors.affiliation: Tokyo University of Agriculture, Funako 1737, Atsugi Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan.
authors.forename: Takehito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuwayama
authors.affiliation: Tokyo University of Agriculture, Funako 1737, Atsugi Kanagawa 243-0034, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisataka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwata
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology; D015571:Follicular Fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000378:metabolism*; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species