Ocena kompetencji rozwojowej oocytów oraz zarodków świń na podstawie badań molekularnych i mikrofluidycznych

Evaluation of oocyte developmental competence has an important influence on the ability of these cells to attain maturation, successful fertilization, development of embryo to the blastocyst stage and proper implantation. Factors determining the reproductive potential of gametes included: (1) expression of important transcription factors, (2) epigenetic changes, which influence the silencing of selected genes transcription, (3) transcription regulation, and (4) post-transcriptional regulation. The epigenetic changes mainly include: DNA methylation, histones modifications and changes in chromatin structure in the oocytes. In several studies, the association between oocyte morphology (mostly determined by cumulus cell layers and granularity of cytoplasm) and the ability of these cells to attain maturation and fertilization has been described. The use of biochemical, metabolomical and molecular markers is the most frequently applied tool in the assessment of oocyte developmental competence. However, most of these methods are invasive and lead to the decreased viability of the analyzed cells. Searching for new, objective and noninvasive techniques leads to the development of a microfluidic chip system, which shows the physical (spectral) properties of oocytes and embryos in comparison to the biological parameters. In this article, selected issues associated with the genetic regulation of such processes as: maturation of oocytes, fertilization and early stages of embryonic development, have been presented. Moreover, the regulation of transcription and post-transcriptional modification during oogenesis and embryogenesis in mammals, with special relation to pigs and the possibilities of applying of microfluidics in assessment of oocyte and embryo developmental competence was shown.