Transcriptional profiling of somatic cells differentiation throughout oocyte competence acquisition in the xenopus ovarian follicles.. Xenopus laevis

Somatic 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 stage IV follicles, C1 samples from immature stage VI follicles, and C2 samples from in vitro matured stage VI follicles. Overall design: Global transcriptional profiling was performed using somatic cells collected from xenopus ovarian follicles during in vivo oocyte developmental competence acquisition. Somatic cells were collected at 3 stages of oogenesis: early stage follicles (stage IV, vitellogenic, prophase I arrested oocytes, meiotically competent but developmentally incompetent, n=5), late stage follicles (stage VI, post-vitellogenic, prophase I arrested oocytes, meiotically competent and developmentally competent, n=5) and ovulatory follicles collected after in vitro maturation induction with hCG of post-vitellogenic follicles (metaphase II arrested oocytes, developmentally fully competent, n=5).