The Impact of Empagliflozin on In Vitro Maturation of Immature Mouse Oocytes
摘要
Objective: In vitro maturation (IVM) is an artificial process that aims to start the oocyte internal mechanisms for completion of maturation in vitro. Calcium homeostasis, which plays an important role in maturation, is controlled by mitochondria as well, but during in vitro culture, the gathering of oxidative stress becomes an obstacle for maturation and reduces the oocyte maturation rate. Empagliflozin is an antidiabetic drug that also has antioxidant properties by increasing the total antioxidant capacity of the cell, prevents damage to the mitochondria, and with this action, it plays an effective role in maintaining calcium homeostasis. This research aimed to evaluate the impact of empagliflozin on the IVM process of mouse oocytes. Material and Methods: Immature oocytes were harvested from NMRI (Naval Medical Research Institute) mice aged between 6 and 8 weeks and cultured in 30 μL droplets of MEM alpha media with 50 nM (E1), 100 nM (E2), 1 μM (E3) and 10 μM (E4) of empagliflozin doses and incubated them for 24 h in an 37oC, 5% CO2 incubator. The control group did not receive empagliflozin (E0). After 24 hours, the IVM rate of the oocytes was assessed. Chi-square test was used to analyze the data. Results: After 24 h, the maturation rate of oocytes in the E1 group demonstrated a statistically significant difference when compared to the E0 group (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings show that empagliflozin is an effective element in oocyte IVM, and it could affect oocytes in order to achieve the metaphase II, dose depending, and it could be used as a supplement in oocyte culture media.