Among fatty acid families, the polyunsaturated fatty acids were demonstrated to be mediators in various reproductive processes as precursor of steroid hormone (via cholesterol) and prostaglandins (via arachidonic acid), and in the last decade, major research was focused on the effects of omega-6 and especially omega-3 fatty acid. Eicosapentaenoic acid, the longest members of omega-3 fatty acid family, can be produced by a series of desaturation and elongation reactions from shorter member such as α-Linolenic acid. However, very few studies have provided detailed descriptions of Eicosapentaenoic acid effects and mechanisms of action in mammalian oocytes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Eicosapentaenoic acid supplementation on in vitro maturation and developmental potential of porcine oocytes. Various concentrations of Eicosapentaenoic acid was added into in vitro maturation medium, and we evaluated the degree of cumulus expansion, nuclear maturation rate, blastocysts quality, and levels of prostaglandin E2, 17β-estradiol, progesterone in the spent medium. High doses (100 mM) of Eicosapentaenoic acid supplementation significantly inhibited cumulus expansion and oocyte nuclear maturation, and prostaglandin E2 synthesis also significantly decreased compared with other groups (p < 0.05). Supplementation of 50 mM Eicosapentaenoic acid showed higher quality blastocysts in terms of high cell numbers and low apoptosis when compared with other groups (p < 0.05), and synthesis ratio of E2/P4 also significantly increased compared with control group (p < 0.05). However, Supplementation of 100 mM Eicosapentaenoic acid showed high apoptosis when compared with other groups (p < 0.05), and synthesis ratio of 17b-estradiol/progesterone also significantly decreased compared with control group (p < 0.05). Our results indicated that supplementation with appropriate levels of Eicosapentaenoic acid beneficially affects the change of hormone synthesis for controlling oocyte maturation, leading to improved embryo quality. However, high doses of Eicosapentaenoic acid treatment results in detrimental effects.

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• 김강식(창원엘르메디 산부인과) | Kang-Sig Kim (Ellemedi Obstetrics and Gynecology, Changwon 51191, Korea)
• 박흠대(대구대학교 생명공학과) | Hum-Dai Park (Department of Biotechnology, Daegu University, Gyeongsan 38454, Korea) Corresponding author