Oxidative stress index of porcine follicular fluid influences meiotic maturation and embryo development during in vitro culture

Vet World Vol.18 July-2025 Article - 28

Research Article

Veterinary World, 18(7): 2078-2086

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.2078-2086

Bin Liu¹

, Takeshige Otoi^1,2,3

, Zhao Namula^1,4

, Oky Setyo Widodo²

, Maki Hirata¹

, Aya Nakai¹

, Qingyi Lin¹

, Yuichiro Nakayama¹

, Megumi Nagahara¹

, and Fuminori Tanihara¹

1. Bio-Innovation Research Center, Tokushima University, 779-3233 Tokushima, Japan.

2. Division of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, 60115 Surabaya, Indonesia.

3. Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, 10330 Bangkok, Thailand.

4. Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, 524091 Zhanjiang, China.

Background and Aim: Porcine follicular fluid (pFF) is frequently used to mimic the follicular microenvironment during in vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes. However, the influence of oxidative stress levels within pFF on oocyte quality and embryo development remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate how varying oxidative stress index (OSI) of pFF affect porcine oocyte meiotic progression, fertilization, and embryonic development during IVM.

Materials and Methods: Oocytes were matured in IVM media supplemented with 30% pFF classified into low (OSI 19), medium (OSI 22), and high (OSI 25) oxidative stress groups, based on the ratio of diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites to biological antioxidant potential. Post-IVM, oocytes were assessed for meiotic stage, DNA fragmentation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and glutathione (GSH) levels. Fertilization and embryo development outcomes were monitored following in vitro fertilization and culture.

Results: The OSI 19 group showed significantly higher maturation to the metaphase II stage and improved fertilization and blastocyst formation rates compared to OSI 22 and OSI 25 groups (p < 0.05). ROS and GSH levels were also significantly elevated in OSI 19 oocytes, without an increase in DNA fragmentation. Blastocysts from the OSI 25 group exhibited significantly higher DNA fragmentation index than those from the OSI 19 group (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The OSI of pFF modulates porcine oocyte competence and embryonic outcomes. Lower OSI is associated with enhanced antioxidant balance, meiotic maturation, and embryo quality. Monitoring pFF oxidative status may improve assisted reproductive outcomes in swine.

Keywords: embryo development, glutathione, in vitro maturation, oxidative stress index, porcine follicular fluid, reactive oxygen species.

How to cite this article: Liu B, Otoi T, Namula Z, Widodo OS, Hirata M, Nakai A, Lin Q, Nakayama Y, Nagahara M, and Tanihara F (2025) Oxidative stress index of porcine follicular fluid influences meiotic maturation and embryo development during in vitro culture , Veterinary World, 18(7): 2078-2086.

Received: 28-03-2025 Accepted: 27-06-2025 Published online: 27-07-2025

Corresponding author: Megumi Nagahara E-mail: nagahara@tokushima-u.ac.jp

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.2078-2086

Copyright: Liu, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.