Ultrastructural and cytochemical comparison between calf and cow oocytes

The use of prepubertal females (calves) to obtain oocytes for in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs, is being analyzed currently. This will increase the availability of female oocytes and will allow a reduction of the interval between generations. Differentials in the development capability of calf and cow oocytes have been assessed by different authors, establishing several ultrastructural and metabolic differences between them. This paper analyzes the morphometric and cytochemical differences between calf and cow oocytes through microscopic techniques. The oocytes morphologically classified as good are processed for electron microscopy a) in Epon 812 epoxy resin for morphometric analysis or b) in low temperature Lowycril K4M resin for cytochemical evaluation using Con A, GS, LPA, UEA, and WGA lectins marked with colloidal gold as probes. Calf oocytes show a greater density of microvilli on their surface and a greater number of endocytosic vesicles than those of the cow. On the other hand, cow oocytes show a larger superior mitochondrial population. In the cumulus cells it can be seen that calf oocytes have a greater volume of lipid droplets. Cytochemical analysis shows that calf oocytes have lectin marking restricted to the plasmic membrane, highlighting the presence of LPA. In cow oocytes, lectin marking can be seen both on the plasmic membrane and in the vacuoles, in both cases, with the LPA highlighted. In the zona pellucida of calf and cow oocytes, the same sugars appear (GS, LPA, WGA), and marking with LPA is more extensive in cow oocytes. © 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc.