The Effect of Sodium Selenite on Expression of Mitochondrial Transcription FactorA during in Vitro Maturation of Mouse Oocyte

Background: the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sodiumselenite (ss) supplemented media on oocyte maturation, expression of mitochondrialtranscription factor a (tfam) and embryo quality.methods: mouse germinal vesicle (gv) oocytes were collected after administration ofpregnant mare serum gonadotropin (pmsg); in experimental group 1, oocytes werecultured and then subjected for in vitro maturation in the absence of ss, and in experimentalgroup 2, they were matured in vitro in the presence of 10 ng/ml of ss upto 16 hr. the control group included mii oocytes obtained from the fallopian tubes afterovarian stimulation with pmsg, followed by human chorionic gonadotropin. then,the expression of tfam in mii oocytes in all three groups was investigated using realtimert-pcr. the fertilization and embryo developmental rates were assessed, andfinally the quality of the blastocysts was evaluated using propidium iodide staining.results: the oocyte maturation rate to mii stage in ss treated group was significantlyhigher than non-treated oocytes (75.65 vs. 68.17%, p<0.05). also, the rates of fertilization,embryo development to blastocyst stage as well as the cell number of blastocystin ss supplemented group were higher than other experimental group (p<0.05).there was a significant decrease in tfam gene expression in both in vitro groupscompared to the group with in vivo obtained oocytes (p<0.05). moreover, there was asignificant increase in tfam gene expression in oocytes that matured in the presenceof ss compared to that of the group without ss (p<0.05).conclusion: supplementation of oocyte maturation culture media with ss improvedthe development rate of oocytes and embryo and also enhanced tfam expression inmii oocytes which can affect the mitochondrial biogenesis of oocytes.