Changes in the Distribution and Density of Cortical Granules in Rabbit Oocytes during Meiotic Maturation

• Published in: Journal of Mammalian Ova Research Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 24 - 30
• Main Authors: NIIMURA, Sueo, HOSOE, Misa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society of Mammalian Ova Research 1994; 日本哺乳動物卵子学会
• Subjects: Cortical granule; Histochemistry; LCA; Meiotic maturation; Rabbit oocyte
• ISSN: 0916-7625; 1884-6513
• DOI: 10.14893/jmor1991.11.24

Using Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate, changes in the distribution and density of cortical granules (CGs) in rabbit oocytes were lectin-histochemically examined during meiotic maturation in vivo and in vitro.A small number of LCA-reactive CGs existed throughout the cytoplasm of every oocyte with the germinal vesicle and of all the oocytes 6 hrs after copulation.The density of CGs rose slightly in the cytoplasm of the oocytes 9 hrs after copulation, though the distribution did not vary.In the ovulated oocytes 12 hrs after copulation, CGs further increased and came to be localized mainly in the cortex except for the small CG-free domain.In the oocytes cultured in vitro, changes in the distribution and density of CGs in the course of culturing were similar to those in the oocytes matured in vivo, though about half of the oocytes cultured only for 9 hrs showed the same distributional pattern of CGs as in vivo oocytes 12 hrs after copulation.