Research Paper Volume 10, Issue 7 pp 1745—1757

Figure 5. Effects of culture with different concentrations of sTNF-α or sFasL on spindle/chromosome morphology of aging mouse oocytes. Oocytes that had aged for 12 h in CZB containing different concentrations of sTNF-α or sFasL were cultured for 24 h in CZB medium before examination for morphology of spindles and chromosomes. In the confocal images, DNA and α-tubulin were pseudo-colored blue and green, respectively. Bar is 15 µm and applies to all images. Image (A) shows an oocyte with a tine-pole spindle and chromosomes congressed on the metaphase plate (T/C), image (B) shows an oocyte with a barrel-shaped spindle and congressed chromosomes (B/C), image (C) shows an oocyte with a disintegrated spindle and congressed chromosomes (D/C), and image (D) shows an oocyte with a disintegrated spindle and scattered chromosomes (D/S). Graphs (E) and (F) show percentages of oocytes with different spindle/chromosome configurations following oocytes were aged with different concentrations of sTNF-α or sFasL, respectively. Each treatment was repeated 3-4 times with each replicate containing about 20 oocytes. a,b: Values with a different letter above bars differ significantly (P<0.05) within spindle/chromosome morphologies.