Figure 1. Effect of cholesterol depletion mediated by MβCD on oocyte survival.

Zona-free mouse oocytes were incubated with different concentrations of MβCD for 30 min at 37°C. (A) Differential interference contrast micrographs of depleted oocytes after MβCD treatment. Are also illustrated by inserted pictures healthy and dead oocytes demonstrating or not their viability by the trypan blue exclusion test. (B) Percentages of living oocytes after cholesterol depletion. Data represent the mean ± SEM of at least 3 independent experiments from a total of 101 control oocytes, 49 oocytes depleted at 5 mM, 92 oocytes depleted at 15 mM and 29 oocytes depleted at 30 mM of MβCD. Comparison of mean values was performed using Bonferroni test. Different letters (a-c) denote significant differences (P<0.05).