title: Melatonin regulates lipid metabolism in porcine oocytes.
abstract: It is being increasingly recognized that the processes of lipogenesis and lipolysis are important for providing an essential energy source during oocyte maturation and embryo development. Recent studies demonstrated that melatonin has a role in lipid metabolism regulation, including lipogenesis, lipolysis, and mitochondrial biogenesis. In this study, we attempted to investigate the effects of melatonin on lipid metabolism during porcine oocyte in vitro maturation. Melatonin treatment significantly enhanced the number of lipid droplets (LDs) and upregulated gene expression related to lipogenesis (ACACA, FASN, PPARγ, and SREBF1). Oocytes treated with melatonin formed smaller LDs and abundantly expressed several genes associated with lipolysis, including ATGL, CGI-58, HSL, and PLIN2. Moreover, melatonin significantly increased the content of fatty acids, mitochondria, and ATP, as indicated by fluorescent staining. Concomitantly, melatonin treatment upregulated gene expression related to fatty acid β-oxidation (CPT1a, CPT1b, CPT2, and ACADS) and mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC-1α, TFAM, and PRDX2). Overall, melatonin treatment not only altered both the morphology and amount of LDs, but also increased the content of fatty acids, mitochondria, and ATP. In addition, melatonin upregulated mRNA expression levels of lipogenesis, lipolysis, β-oxidation, and mitochondrial biogenesis-related genes in porcine oocytes. These results indicated that melatonin promoted lipid metabolism and thereby provided an essential energy source for oocyte maturation and subsequent embryonic development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Xue
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sanghoon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Anukul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taweechaipaisankul
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Geon A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.|Institutes of Green Bio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Byeong Chun
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6821-0376
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D008550:Melatonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D008550:Melatonin
keywords: 
  ATP
  ; fatty acid; lipid droplet; melatonin; mitochondria; triglyceride; β-oxidation