Transcriptional profiling of cumulus cells differentiation throughout oocyte competence acquisition in the murine ovarian follicles

Cumulus cells surrounding the oocyte were sampled at the following stages: developmentally incompetent or poorly competent prophase I oocytes (NC1 oocytes), developmentally competent prophase I oocytes (C1 oocytes), and developmentally competent metaphase II oocytes (C2 oocytes). NC1 samples were collected from immature, unexpanded cumulus-oocytes complexes (COC) from prepubertal (3-week-old) mice, C1 samples from immature, unexpanded cumulus-oocytes complexes (COC) from adult (8-week-old) and C2 samples from mature, expanded COCs obtained from the oviduct from 8-week-old mice after standard superovulation protocol. Global transcriptional profiling was performed using cumulus cells collected from murine ovarian follicles during in vivo oocyte developmental competence acquisition. Cumulus cells were collected at 3 stages: early stage follicles (prophase I arrested oocytes, meiotically competent but developmentally incompetent, n=5), late stage follicles (prophase I arrested oocytes, meiotically competent and developmentally competent, n=5) and ovulatory follicles collected in vivo (metaphase II arrested oocytes, developmentally fully competent, n=5).本数据集采集了三类卵母细胞（oocyte）周围的卵丘细胞（cumulus cells）：发育能力不足或较弱的减数分裂I前期（prophase I）卵母细胞（NC1卵母细胞）、具备发育能力的减数分裂I前期卵母细胞（C1卵母细胞），以及具备发育能力的减数分裂II中期（metaphase II）卵母细胞（C2卵母细胞）。其中NC1样本采集自青春期前（3周龄）小鼠的未成熟、未扩张卵丘-卵母细胞复合体（cumulus-oocytes complexes, COC）；C1样本采集自成年（8周龄）小鼠的未成熟、未扩张卵丘-卵母细胞复合体（COC）；C2样本则采集自8周龄小鼠经标准超数排卵方案（superovulation protocol）处理后，从输卵管获取的成熟且已扩张的COC。 本研究针对小鼠卵巢卵泡（follicles）体内（in vivo）卵母细胞发育能力获得过程中采集的卵丘细胞，开展了全局转录组分析（global transcriptional profiling）。 该分析的卵丘细胞采样分为三个阶段：早期卵泡阶段（减数分裂I前期阻滞卵母细胞，具备减数分裂能力但发育能力不足，n=5）、晚期卵泡阶段（减数分裂I前期阻滞卵母细胞，同时具备减数分裂与发育能力，n=5），以及体内采集的排卵卵泡阶段（减数分裂II中期阻滞卵母细胞，发育能力完全成熟，n=5）。