LAUSR

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of TNF-α and IL-1β on development and survival of bovine secondary follicle culture in vitro for 18 days. Secondary follicles (~0.2 mm) were isolated from ovarian cortex and individually cultured at 38.5°C, with 5% CO2 in air, for 18 days, in TCM-199+ alone (cultured control) or supplemented with 10 ng/ml IL-1β, 10 ng/ml TNF-α or both TNF-α and IL-1β. The effects of these treatments on growth, follicular survival, antrum formation, viability, ultrastructure and mRNA levels for GDF-9, c-MOS, H1foo and Cyclin B1 were evaluated. The results showed that addition of TNF-α to culture medium increased follicular diameter and rate of antrum formation, whereas that of IL-1β and a mixture of IL-1β and TNF-α did not do so. Ultrastructural analysis showed that, among the tested cytokine treatments, follicles cultured in the presence of TNF-α had the best-preserved oocytes and granulosa cells. The presence of TNF-α, IL-1β or both did not influence the expression of mRNAs analysed. In conclusion, in contrast to IL-1β, TNF-α promotes growth of and antrum formation in in vitro cultured bovine secondary follicles, while their ultrastructure and viability were maintained.