Objective To study the effect of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on the superovulation effect and oocyte quality of C57BL/6J female mice and its mechanism.
Method 30 3-week-old female C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into 3 groups, namely the control group, the low-dose treatment group (2mg/kg·d-1) and the high-dose treatment group (5mg/kg·d-1). Gavage with DHEA for 1 week, and then perform in vitro fertilization and harvest cumulus cells after superovulation. The RNA of cumulus cells was extracted for qRT-PCR to detect the mRNA levels of genes related to embryo quality Grem1, Has2, Ptgs1, Ptgs2 and Vcan, and the mRNA levels of apoptosis-related genes Caspase3 and Bcl2l10.
Results After superovulation of female mice treated with DHEA, in vitro fertilization (IVF) showed that the proportion of heterotypic eggs in the experimental group decreased. Compared with the control group, the transcription levels of genes Has2, Ptgs1 and Vcan related to embryo quality in the cumulus cells of the experimental group were up-regulated, while the mRNA levels of Germ1 and Ptgs2 were down-regulated. The mRNA level of Caspase3 was down-regulated, and the mRNA level of Bcl2l10 was up-regulated.
Conclusion After treatment with DHEA, the quality of oocytes can be improved by inhibiting ketone death of cumulus cells.