Epinephrine promotes development potential of vitrified mouse oocytes.

Cryopreserved oocytes show low developmental ability. To understand the mechanism underlying their development impairment, study was designed to determine the effect of epinephrine on the in vitro developmental competence of vitrified mouse oocytes. Mature oocytes were vitrified using Open Pulled Straw (OPS) method. The vitrified oocytes were warmed and introduced into M2 medium which contains epinephrine at different concentrations (10(-2), 10(-4), 10(-6), 10(-8) mol L(-1) in an incubator for 1 h. Then the survival rate of the oocytes was evaluated and the subsequent development of oocytes was assessed through in vitro Fertilization (IVF). Furthermore, the levels of intracellular ROS, GSH and the concentration of ATP were determined among 10(-4) mol L(-1) epinephrine-treated group, vitrification group and fresh group. Results showed that vitrified oocytes treated with 10(-4)) mol L(-1) epinephrine had significant higher rates of cleavage (66.4 vs.45.2%) and blastocyst (47.2 vs. 34.7%) than no epinephrine treated group, as well as more blastocyst cells (54.5 vs. 36.8) and lower ratio of apoptotic cells (5.9 vs. 21.5%; p < 0.05). Further experiment found that 10(-4) mol L(-1) epinephrine treatment could significantly reduce intracellular ROS level and enhance cytoplasmic ATP concentration (p < 0.05), but there was no different in GSH level compared to vitrification group. In conclusion, epinephrine could promote vitrified oocytes cryosurvival and their subsequent development ability, which maybe related with the changes of intracellular ROS level and ATP content.