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. 2023 Sep 15;29(10):gaad033. doi: 10.1093/molehr/gaad033

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Experimental approaches for analysis of FSH action on cumulus cell function and oocyte maturation in the small ovarian reserve heifer. To test the hypothesis that excessive FSH action during ovarian stimulation dysregulates cumulus cell function and oocyte maturation, we determined: (A) if any of the 3288 Ex-cpFSH-induced cumulus DEGs in Types 2, 3, and 4 versus 1 ovulatory-size follicles of the SORH model, identified in our previously published transcriptome data set (Clark et al., 2022b), were common to all ovulatory-size follicles independent of their Type and if these DEGs were critical for cumulus function and oocyte maturation. We also determined: (B) if Ex-cpFSH doses during ovarian stimulation of the SORH model altered number of ovulatory-size follicles and COC recovery rate (Exp 1–3), cumulus cell morphology (Exp 1–2), nuclear maturation of oocytes before (premature, Exp 1) or after an ovulatory hCG stimulus (Exp 2) or after IVM of comCOCs (Exp 3), and IVF of prematurely expCOCs (Exp 3). Ex-cpFSH, excessive commercial FSH-enriched porcine pituitary preparation; DEGs, differentially expressed genes; SORH, small ovarian reserve heifer; COC, cumulus–oocyte complex; Exp, experiment; comCOCs, compact cumulus–oocyte complexes; expCOCs, expanded cumulus–oocyte complexes.