1. Academic Validation
  2. The follicle-stimulating hormone triggers rapid changes in mitochondrial structure and function in porcine cumulus cells

The follicle-stimulating hormone triggers rapid changes in mitochondrial structure and function in porcine cumulus cells

  • Sci Rep. 2024 Jan 3;14(1):436. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-50586-3.
Amel Lounas 1 Yann Breton 2 Ariane Lebrun 1 Isabelle Laflamme 1 Nathalie Vernoux 3 Julie Savage 3 Marie-Ève Tremblay 3 4 Martin Pelletier 2 Marc Germain 5 François J Richard 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Centre de recherche en reproduction, développement et santé intergénérationnelle (CRDSI), Département des sciences animales, Faculté des Sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
  • 2 Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Axe Maladies infectieuses et immunitaires, Département de microbiologie-infectiologie et d'immunologie, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V4G2, Canada.
  • 3 Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Axe Neurosciences, Département de médecine moléculaire, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada.
  • 4 Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada.
  • 5 Département de biologie médicale, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Québec, G8Z 4M3, Canada.
  • 6 Centre de recherche en reproduction, développement et santé intergénérationnelle (CRDSI), Département des sciences animales, Faculté des Sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada. Francois.Richard@fsaa.ulaval.ca.
Abstract

Oocyte maturation is a key process during which the female germ cell undergoes resumption of meiosis and completes its preparation for embryonic development including cytoplasmic and epigenetic maturation. The cumulus cells directly surrounding the oocyte are involved in this process by transferring essential metabolites, such as pyruvate, to the oocyte. This process is controlled by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent mechanisms recruited downstream of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) signaling in cumulus cells. As mitochondria have a critical but poorly understood contribution to this process, we defined the effects of FSH and high cAMP concentrations on mitochondrial dynamics and function in porcine cumulus cells. During in vitro maturation (IVM) of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs), we observed an FSH-dependent mitochondrial elongation shortly after stimulation that led to mitochondrial fragmentation 24 h later. Importantly, mitochondrial elongation was accompanied by decreased mitochondrial activity and a switch to glycolysis. During a pre-IVM culture step increasing intracellular cAMP, mitochondrial fragmentation was prevented. Altogether, the results demonstrate that FSH triggers rapid changes in mitochondrial structure and function in COCs involving cAMP.

Figures
Products