Polycystic ovary syndrome is an endocrine disorder commonly found among females of reproductive age. Different factors have been correlated with this syndrome, although the aetiology of the disease is still unrecognized with both environmental and hereditary factors leading to the progression. Hormonal effects of the AKT pathway have made it an interesting study unit for PCOS cases. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression patterns of genes involved in the AKT pathway, including IRS1, IRS2, AKT1 and AKT2. In total, 13 human oocytes were collected for this study at the meiosis II stage, in which seven of them were collected from individuals with polycystic ovaries and the rest formed the control group of individuals with no signs of polycystic ovaries. RNA was extracted from oocytes and then the RNA was converted into cDNA for the real-time PCR process. Expression levels of four genes in the AKT pathway, in addition to housekeeping gene (ACTB), were evaluated. Expression levels of each gene were quantified using real-time PCR and statistical analysis was performed. The results of this study showed that there was no significant correlation between the expression of genes in oocyte samples obtained from patients with polycystic ovaries and the control group. This study is the first to evaluate the expression levels of genes involved in the AKT pathway in human oocyte samples. Therefore, it provides crucial information to form the basis of further studies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible molecular pathways through which ghrelin accelerates in vitro oocyte maturation. Bovine cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs), after 18 or 24 h maturation in the absence or the presence of 800 pg ml–1 of acylated ghrelin were either assessed for nuclear maturation or underwent in vitro fertilization in standard media and putative zygotes were cultured in vitro for 8 days. In a subset of COCs the levels of phosphorylated Akt1 and ERK1/2 (MAPK1/3) were assessed at the 0th, 6th, 10th, 18th and 24th hours of in vitro maturation (IVM). At 18 and 24 h no difference existed in the proportion of matured oocytes in the ghrelin-treated group, while in the control group more (P < 0.05) matured oocyte were found at 24 h. Oocyte maturation for 24 h in the presence of ghrelin resulted in substantially reduced (P < 0.05) blastocyst yield(16.3%) in comparison with that obtained after 18 h (30.0%) or to both control groups (29.3% and 26.9%, for 18 and 24 h in maturation, respectively). Ghrelin-treated oocytes expressed lower Akt1 phosphorylation rate at the 10th hour of IVM, and higher ERK1/2 at the 6th and 10th hours of IVM compared with controls. In cumulus cells, at the 18th and 24th hours of IVM Akt1 phosphorylation rate was higher in ghrelin-treated oocytes. Our results imply that ghrelin acts in a different time-dependent manner on bovine oocytes and cumulus cells modulating Akt1 and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, which brings about acceleration of the oocyte maturation process.