Improving survival and growth of caprine preantral follicles cultured in medium commonly used for MSC: Role of oxidative stress regulation and epigenetic changes

Abstract

This study evaluated the efficiency of in vitro culture of preantral follicles (PAF) in a commonly used medium for mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) culture. Parameters assessed included follicle survival, growth, stromal cell density, levels of reduced thiols and reactive oxygen species, epigenetic changes, cell apoptosis, and mRNA abundance. Caprine ovarian tissues were cultured for 1 or 7 days in either PAF or MSC-common media, with uncultured tissues serving as controls. The MSC medium exhibited increased follicular survival and growth and remodeled stromal density potentially through the regulation of oxidative stress and epigenetic changes compared to the PAF medium. In conclusion, our results highlight the importance of the MSC medium in enhancing follicular survival and growth, changing the stromal cell density, as well as in regulating the medium oxidative stress and epigenetic changes during the in vitro culture of caprine PAF.