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Oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) reduces the need for gonadotrophin-induced ovarian hyperstimulation and its associated health risks but the unacceptably low conception/pregnancy rates have limited its clinical uptake. We report the development of a novel in vitro simulated physiological oocyte maturation (SPOM) system.

Bovine or mouse cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were treated with cAMP modulators for the first 1–2 h in vitro (pre-IVM), increasing COC cAMP levels ∼100-fold. To maintain oocyte cAMP levels and prevent precocious oocyte maturation, COCs were treated during IVM with an oocyte-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor and simultaneously induced to mature with FSH. Using SPOM, the pre-IVM and IVM treatments synergized to increase bovine COC gap-junctional communication and slow meiotic …