Effect of anti-Mullerian hormone in culture medium on quality of mouse oocytes matured in vitro

Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is thought to reflect the growth of follicles and the ovarian function. However, the role of AMH in culture medium during in vitro maturation (IVM) on oocyte quality and subsequent development potential is unclear. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of recombinant human AMH (rh-AMH) supplemented into IVM medium on oocyte quality. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were obtained from ICR mice and cultured in vitro with the different concentrations (0-1,000 ng/ml) of rh-AMH. Following 16-18 h of culture, quantitative PCR and ELISA were performed to analyze GDF9 and BMP15 mRNA expression and protein production from the oocytes. Subsequently, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and early embryonic development were employed to further evaluate the quality of in vitro matured oocytes. The results showed that AMH was only expressed in cumulus cells but not in the oocytes. However, AMH most specific receptor, AMHR-II, was expressed in both oocytes and cumulus cells. The levels of GDF9 and BMP15 expression and blastocyst formation rate were significantly increased (p