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Vertebrate reproductive science and technology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Reproductive competency and mitochondrial variation in aged Syrian hamster oocytes

Fang Li A D , Frank J. Castora B G , Wentia Ford A F , Khalid Alarid A , Howard W. Jones Jr C and R. James Swanson A E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, 5115 Hampton Blvd, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA.

B Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 721 Fairfax Ave, Norfolk, VA 23507, USA.

C The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 601 Colley Ave, Norfolk, VA 23507, USA.

D Present address: Laboratory of Embryology, IVF Michigan, 37000 Woodward Ave, Ste 350, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, USA.

E Present address: Department of Anatomical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Liberty University, 306 Liberty View Lane, Lynchburg, VA 24502, USA.

F Present address: 5010 Juno Court Edinburg, TX 78539, USA.

G Corresponding author. Email: castorfj@evms.edu

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 29(7) 1384-1391 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD15404
Submitted: 8 October 2015  Accepted: 9 May 2016   Published: 22 June 2016

Abstract

The hamster is a useful model of human reproductive biology because its oocytes are similar to those in humans in terms of size and structural stability. In the present study we evaluated fecundity rate, ovarian follicular numbers, ova production, mitochondrial number, structure and function, and cytoplasmic lamellae (CL) in young (2–4 months) and old (12–18 months) Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Young hamsters had higher fertilisation rates and larger litters than old hamsters (100 vs 50% and 9.3 ± 0.6 vs 5.5 ± 0.6, respectively). Ovarian tissue from superovulated animals showed a 46% decrease in preantral follicles in old versus young hamsters. There was a 39% reduction in MII oocyte number in old versus young hamsters. Young ova had no collapsed CL, whereas old ova were replete with areas of collapsed, non-luminal CL. Eighty-nine per cent of young ova were expanded against the zona pellucida with a clear indentation at the polar body, compared with 58.64% for old ova; the remaining old ova had increased perivitelline space with no polar body indentation. Higher reactive oxygen species levels and lower mitochondrial membrane potentials were seen in ova from old versus young hamsters. A significant decrease in mitochondrial number (36%) and lower frequency of clear mitochondria (31%) were observed in MII oocytes from old versus young hamster. In conclusion, the results of the present study support the theory of oocyte depletion during mammalian aging, and suggest that morphological changes of mitochondria and CL in oocytes may be contributing factors in the age-related decline in fertility rates.

Additional keywords: aging, lamellae, mitochondria, organelle structure, reactive oxygen species (ROS).


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