O efeito da angiotensina II na maturação nuclear de oócitos bovinos é mediado pelas prostaglandinas E2 e F2α

Abstract

In mammals, it is well know that resumption of meiosis occurs after the preovulatory LH surge and results in germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), initiating the so-called oocyte maturation. However, the pathway by which this gonadotrophin acts is not completely clear. We have recently demonstrated that AngII plays an important role on the onset of ovulation in cattle, potentially acting as an intrafollicular LH mediator. We also observed that AngII prevents the inhibitory effect of follicular cells during bovine oocyte nuclear maturation in vitro. These results suggest that AngII plays a role in LH-induced resumption of meiosis in the bovine oocyte. The aim of this study was to verify the involvement of AngII in LH-induced meiosis resumption and test the hypothesis that prostaglandins E2 and F2α participates of AngII-induced meiosis resumption in bovine oocytes. In the first experiment, seven cows were superovulated with FSH and follicles larger than 12 mm in diameter were subjected to an intrafollicular injection of saralasin or saline. Follicles from the right ovary (n=17) where intrafollicular injected with saralasin (10μM) and follicles from the left ovary (n=17) were treated with saline (control group). A preovulatory LH surge was induced by im injection of a GnRH agonist (gonadorelin 100μg im) following the intrafollicular injections. Fifteen hours later, the animals were ovariectomized and the oocytes were recovered to evaluate the stage of meiotic maturation. All oocytes (n=12) were at germinal vesicle stage (GV) 15 hours after GnRH agonist injection in the saralasin group while in the control group (n=13) the oocytes were at the GVBD (30.8%) or Metaphase I (MI; 69.2%; P<0.001) stage. In other experiment, oocytes were co-cultured with follicular hemisections during 15 hours, to evaluate the role of prostaglandins mediating the effect of AngII on meiotic resumption. The inhibitory effects caused by follicular cells on oocyte nuclear maturation was prevented by adding 100pM of AngII to the culture medium (26.6% MI without AngII vs. 77.5% MI with AngII; P<0.001). However, when a nonselective ciclooxigenase (COX) inhibitor (10μM of indometacin) was present in the culture system with AngII and follicular hemisections, oocytes reached MI in a percentage (13.4%) significantly lower than without indometacin (P<0.001). Furthermore, when 1μM of PGE2 or PGF2α was added to the co-culture system with follicular cells, oocyte nuclear maturation rate followed the same pattern as the high maturation rate observed in the presence of AngII (PGE2 77.4%, PGF2α 70.0% and AngII 75.0% of MI). In conclusion, these results suggest that AngII mediates meiosis resumption induced by LH surge in bovine oocytes, which is dependent of PGE2 and PGF2α production by follicular cells.