Background and Aim: Atorvastatin is one of the medicines used for the treatment of high blood cholesterol which recently has been shown to have antioxidant effects in the cell. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of atorvastatin on the growth and quality of immature mouse oocytes in vitro.
Materials and Methods: 400 oocytes were prepared from ovaries of 40 NMRI mice and divided into two groups of control (culture medium) and atorvastatin (culture medium + 2 μM atorvastatin). Then oocyte qualitative parameters including zona pellucida thickness (ZP), Perivitelline space size (PVS) and oocyte diameter (OD) were determined using invert microscope and image-J software.
Results: Quantitative parameters of zona pellucida thickness and oocyte diameter were increased in the atorvastatin group compared to those in the control group. In the evaluation of oocytes quality, the number of oocytes exhibiting +1 score in the atorvastatin and control groups were (70%) and (55.4%) respectively, which showed a significant difference between the two groups (P≤0.05). The numbers of polar bodies exhibiting +1 score in the atorvastatin and control groups were (36.18%) and (18.5%) respectively (P≤0.05).
Conclusion: Use of atorvastatin had a significant effect on the growth and final quality of the immature oocytes in vitro and it can possibly be used to increase the efficiency of in vitro fertilization in the future.