Effect of glucose and pyruvate on nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of porcine oocytes in a chemically defined medium

The objective was to examine potential roles of glucose and pyruvate in nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of porcine oocytes. Oocyte-cumulus complexes (OCC), derived from 3 to 6 mm follicles, were cultured in a chemically defined medium (pyruvate-free mNCSU37-PVA), with or without 5.55 mM glucose, during in vitro maturation (IVM); in the absence of glucose, germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) and nuclear maturation were prevented (P < 0.05). Subsequently, OCC were cultured for IVM in glucose-containing mNCSU37-PVA supplemented with 6-amononicotinamide (6-AN) and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), inhibitors of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP); both compounds (≥10 μM 6-AN and ≥10 nM DPI) inhibited resumption of meiosis (P < 0.05). Supplementation of glucose-free maturation medium with increasing concentrations of pyruvate induced resumption of meiosis and increased the incidence of oocytes reaching metaphase-II in a concentration-dependent manner (P < 0.05). More mature oocytes were obtained in the presence of pyruvate + glucose (P < 0.05). After culture to allow maturation, glutathione content was higher in oocytes cultured in the presence of pyruvate alone than in those cultured in glucose alone; inclusion of 6-AN abolished responses to pyruvate (P < 0.05). In conclusion, both glucose and pyruvate played a critical role in the release of porcine oocytes from arrest at the GV-I stage, probably through the PPP, whereas supplementation with pyruvate improved cytoplasmic maturation, as determined by oocyte glutathione content.