Effects of Oxytocin and Granulosa Cell Co-Culture on the Development of Mouse One-Cell Stage Embryos

Abstract

Effects of oxytocin supplemented into medium on the development of mouse one-cell stage embryos were investigated. When the embryos with and without cumulus cells were cultured in the media containing 10^-14 to 10^-4M oxytocin, the developmental rates of 10^-10M oxytocin-supplemented group in the cumulusfree embryos were significantly increased compared to those of control, but the rates of 10^-4M oxytocin group were decreased. There, however, was almost no effect on the developmental rates in the cumulus-enclosed embryos. In addition, effect of 10^-10M oxytocin on the embryo development was compared to that of coculture with granulosa cells. There were no differences between oxytocinsupplemented and co-culture groups in the developmental rates to each stage from 2-cell to expanded blastocyst. But co-culture system obviously increased the cell number of blastocysts. The additional effect of supplementation with oxytocin into co-culture system on the developmental rate and the cell number of blastocysts was not found.