title: Improvement of in vitro-produced bovine embryo treated with coagulansin-A under heat-stressed condition.
abstract: Heat stress has large effects on reproduction including conception rate in cattle. In this study, we examined the effects of coagulansin-A (coa-A), a steroidal lactone, on acquired thermo tolerance during in vitro production of bovine embryos. Oocytes were incubated in in vitro maturation (IVM) media with or without coa-A at two different temperatures, 40.5˚C and 42˚C, for 20 h. The treatment of coa-A significantly improved blastocyst development only at 40.5˚C (P < 0.05). Interestingly, immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that coa-A induced heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), but significantly attenuated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2). To determine the expression patterns of related genes at the transcription level, qRT-PCR was performed. Expression of HSP70 and PI3K was elevated, whereas expression of NF-κB, COX2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was significantly (P < 0.05) downregulated in the coa-A-treated group compared with the control group. Moreover, pro-apoptotic genes were downregulated, and antiapoptic genes were upregulated in the coa-A group. We also counted the total cell number and apoptotic nuclei at the blastocyst and found that more cell numbers (143.1 ± 1.5) and less apoptotic damages (6.4 ± 0.5) in the coa-A treatment group comparing to control group (131.4 ± 2.0 and 10.8 ± 0.5), indicating the enhanced embryo quality. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the coa-A not only improved the blastocyst development in vitro but also increased their resistance to heat stress condition through induction of HSP70/PI3K.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal ScienceDivision of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus).
authors.forename: Imran
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal ScienceDivision of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus).
authors.forename: Kyeong-Lim
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal ScienceDivision of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus).
authors.forename: Lianguang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal ScienceDivision of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus).
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mesalam
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal ScienceDivision of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus).
authors.forename: M M R
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal ScienceDivision of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus).
authors.forename: Myeong-Don
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.affiliation: Department of PharmacyFaculty of Biological Sciences.
authors.lastname: Ihsan-Ul-Haq
authors.affiliation: Department of BiochemistryQuaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Bushra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mirza
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal ScienceDivision of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus) ikong7900@gmail.com.|Institute of Agriculture and Life ScienceGyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam Province, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Il-Keun
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Kong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000187:drug effects; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018882:Heat Stress Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D054358:Withanolides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D054358:Withanolides