Real-time proliferation of porcine cumulus cells is related to the protein levels and cellular distribution of Cdk4 and Cx43.

The proper maturation of cumulus somatic cells depends on bidirectional communication between the oocyte and the surrounding cumulus cells (CCs). The aim of this study was (i) to investigate maturation markers, such as Cx43 and Cdk4 protein levels, and (ii) to analyze the distribution of these two proteins in CCs cultured for 44, 88, 132, and 164 hours in both separated and cumulus-enclosed oocyte cultures. CCs were isolated from porcine ovarian follicles after the treatment of the recovered COCs with collagenase. Then, the separated CCs were cultured in TCM-199 for 0 to 164 hours, using a real-time cellular analyzer; however, the immunostaining was performed only after 44, 88, and 132 hours. The protein levels and distribution were analyzed using confocal microscopy. After the CCs underwent in vitro cultivation (IVC) for 25 hours, a logarithmically increasing normalized proliferation index was found throughout the entire 164 hours cultivation time. The Cx43 and Cdk4 proteins were observed at higher levels after 44 hours of culture than before IVC. After 88 and 132 hours of IVC, no significant alterations in either mRNA or protein levels of Cx43 and Cdk4 were found. Cx43 and Cdk4 were localized in the cell nucleus before IVC, whereas after 44, 88, and 132 hours of IVC, both proteins translocated to the cytoplasm. In cumulus-enclosed oocyte cultures, Cdk4 was localized both in the nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas Cx43 was only in the cytoplasm. Additionally, only low levels of the cumulus expansion markers MIS and SNAT3 were observed. In summary, we could demonstrate that the in vitro cultivation of CCs was associated with cell proliferation and that Cx43 and Cdk4 gene expression was upregulated after IVC, resulting in significantly higher protein levels. Moreover, the two proteins translocated from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of the CCs during IVC. The protein distribution is presumably related to different protein functions during bidirectional communication via gap junction communication.