EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID INDUCES DNA DAMAGE AND APOPTOSIS IN CUMULUS CELLS DURING IN VITRO MATURATION OF BOVINE OOCYTES

ANCHORDOQUY JP; FURNUS CC; ANCHORDOQUY JM; PASCUA AM; NIKOLOFF N; SIRINI MA; SEOANE AL

Montevideo

Congreso; X Congreso ALAMCTA; 2016

ALAMCTA

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are involved in physiological functions such as growth, reproduction, vision and brain development. Most PUFA are essential FA and should be obtained exogenously from a dietary source. Marine oils are the primary dietary source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; n-3 PUFA 20: 5). Changes in dietary lipids are reflected in the distribution of fat in reproductive tissues, follicular fluid and plasma. Currently, there is growing interest in understanding how lipid supplementation influences reproductive processes in cattle. Therefore, knowledge of fatty acid functions in the oocyte and cumulus cells (CC) is essential to understand how physiological alterations of follicular lipids, as well as the supply of lipids as a substrate for metabolism during in vitro maturation (IVM), influence during the early stages of embryonic development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of EPA during IVM of bovine oocytes. Alkaline comet assay and annexin V / FITC were used to assess CC genotoxic effect and apoptosis. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) from bovine ovaries obtained from an abattoir were matured in vitro and treated with 1 nM, 1 µM and 1 mM EPA concentrationsfor 24 h. Data were analyzed using Statgraphics Plus 5.1 software. The results demonstrated that: a) 1 nM EPA induced DNA damage (P