Polyspermia is an adverse phenomenon during mammalian fertilization when more than one sperm fuses with a single oocyte. The egg cell is prepared to prevent polyspermia by, among other ways, producing cortical granules (CGs), which are specialized intracellular structures containing enzymes that aim to harden the zona pellucida and block the fusion of subsequent sperm. This work focused on exploring the expression profile of genes that may be associated with cortical reactions, and evaluated the distribution of CGs in immature oocytes and the peripheral density of CGs in mature oocytes. Oocytes were isolated and then processed for in vitro maturation (IVM). Transcriptomic analysis of genes belonging to five ontological groups has been conducted. Six genes showed increased expression after IVM (ARHGEF2, MAP1B, CXCL12, FN1, DAB2, and SOX9), while the majority of genes decreased expression after IVM. Using CG distribution analysis in immature oocytes, movement towards the cortical zone of the oocyte during meiotic competence acquisition was observed. CGs peripheral density decreased with the rise in meiotic competence during the IVM process. The current results reveal important new insights into the in vitro maturation of oocytes. Our results may serve as a basis for further studies to investigate the cortical reaction of oocytes.

Department of Anatomy and Histology University of Zielona Gora 65 046 Zielona Gora Poland

Department of Anatomy Poznan University of Medical Sciences 60 781 Poznan Poland

Department of Basic and Preclinical Sciences Institute of Veterinary Medicine Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun 87 100 Torun Poland

Department of Diagnostics and Clinical Sciences Institute of Veterinary Medicine Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun 87 100 Torun Poland

Department of Histology and Embryology Poznan University of Medical Sciences 60 781 Poznan Poland

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University Hospital and Masaryk University 602 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Toxicology Poznan University of Medical Sciences 60 631 Poznan Poland

Department of Veterinary Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague 165 00 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Veterinary Surgery Institute of Veterinary Medicine Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun 87 100 Torun Poland

Prestage Department of Poultry Science North Carolina State University Raleigh NC 27695 USA

School of Medicine Medical Sciences and Nutrition University of Aberdeen Aberdeen AB25 2ZD UK

Veterinary Research Institute 621 00 Brno Czech Republic

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