Waramanee Pongsawat and Mayuva Youngsabanant

DOI: 10.14456/sjst-psu.2019.130

pp. 1029 - 1036

Abstract

We demonstrated the potential of primary porcine cumulus oocyte complexes (pCOCs) used as a biological model for
determination of in vitro toxicity of cadmium and copper. After treatment at a concentration of 10-4 M of cadmium and copper
for 44 h, the surrounding cumulus cells (CCs) stopped the expansion process and the pCOCs did not undergo maturation in either
treatment. Compared to the control, degradation of the pCOCs was observed as well as a number of vacuoles associated with
metal accumulation. Cumulus cells and zona-pellucida revealed a rough surface with numerous knobs. The cumulus cells showed
a loss of cell margin and signs of cytoplasmic organelle damage. The percent adsorption rate of cadmium and copper from
inductively coupled plasma were 5.65 and 6.85, respectively, and there was no significant difference between treatment groups
(P>0.05). This finding is valuable for future cell technology research in medical and in vitro cytotoxicity studies.

Keywords

• cadmium
• copper
• cytotoxicity
• porcine cumulus oocyte complexes (pCOCs)
• electron microscopy