Abstract
The present experiment was to make clear the histochemical natures and quantitative fluctuation of lipid droplets contained in the cytoplasm of Mongolian gerbil eggs from 1-cell to blastocyst stage. The activities of enzymes related to fat metabolism in the eggs were also investigated.
Different sizes of lipid droplets composed of lipoids were contained in the cytoplasm of Mongolian gerbil eggs. The droplets were abundant in the eggs from 1-cell to morula stage, but less in blastocysts. There could be found weak activities of α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and of β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and a strong activity of Δ5-3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (dehydroepiandrosterone as the substrate), but no non-specific esterase activity in the eggs through-out their early development.
From the results obtained here, it seems that Mongolian gerbil eggs may have abilities of fatty acid metabolism, steroid synthesis and interconversion between carbohydrates and lipids.
