Research Paper Volume 14, Issue 7 pp 3191—3202

Figure 2. Effects of Epitalon on the integrity of postovulatory aged oocytes and after parthenogenetic activation. (A) Representative images of fragmented oocytes in the Control, Aged and 0.1mM Epitalon-treated groups. (B) The rates of oocyte fragmentation were recorded in the Control, Aged and Epitalon-treated oocytes. Epitalon was supplemented to the culture medium with a concentration of 0.1mM, 0.25mM, 0.5mM, 1mM, or 2mM. (C) Representative images of 2-cell embryos from the Control, Aged and 0.1mM Epitalon-treated groups. (D) The rates of fragmentation after parthenogenetic activation were recorded in the Control, Aged, and 0.1mM Epitalon-treated oocytes. Data from more than 30 oocytes were analyzed for each group. Significant difference between the Aged and 0.1mM Epitalon groups was observed (p < 0.01). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of at least three independent experiments. Scale bar: 100 μm. PA, parthenogenetic activation.