원문정보
초록
영어
Cathepsin B, a lysosomal cysteine protease of the papain family, has recently been implicated in quality and developmental competence of bovine preimplantation embryos. In this study, to determine whether inhibition of Cathepsin B activity could improve oocyte maturation and early embryo developmental competence in porcine, we added E-64, an inhibitor of Cathepsin B, into the in vitro maturation and culture media. Both mRNA and protein expression were no differences in germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes between good and poor quality from the morphology. Even activity of Cathepsin B is high in good quality GV stage oocytes, E-64 did not enhance in vitro maturation of porcine oocyte. However, I nM E-64 significantly (p<0.05) increased blastocyst formation and cell numbers. Inhibition of Cathepsin B activity did not alter mitochondrial membrane potential, copy numbers and ATP contents. But, E-64 significantly (p<0.05) reduced mitochondrial release of cytochrome c, finally decreased mRNA expression of Caspase 3 and Caspase 9, resulted in reduction of apoptotic index in porcine blastocysts. Collectively, these observations suggest that Inhibition of Cathepsin B activity enhanced developmental competence and reduced apoptosis through protecting against cytochrome C release from mitochondria in porcine parthenotes.