RNA-Seq transcriptome profiling of mouse oocytes after in vitro maturation and/or vitrification

In vitro maturation (IVM) and vitrification have been widely used to prepare oocytes before fertilization; however, potential effects of these procedures, such as expression profile changes, are poorly understood. In this study, mouse oocytes were divided into four groups and subjected to combinations of in vitro maturation and/or vitrification treatments. RNA-seq and in silico pathway analysis were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that may be involved in oocyte viability after in vitro maturation and/or vitrification. Our results showed that 1) 69 genes were differentially expressed after IVM, 66 of which were up-regulated. Atp5e and Atp5o were enriched in the most significant gene ontology term “mitochondrial membrane part”; thus, these genes may be promising candidate biomarkers for oocyte viability after IVM. 2) The influence of vitrification on the transcriptome of oocytes was negligible, as no DEGs were found between vitrified and fresh oocytes. 3) The MII stage is more suitable for oocyte vitrification with respect to the transcriptome. This study provides a valuable new theoretical basis to further improve the efficiency of in vitro maturation and/or oocyte vitrification.