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Expression of the Ghrelin in Sheep Ooctyes and Pre-implantation Embryos Produced in vivo Du, Chen-guang; Yang, Yan-yan; Li, Hai-jun; Bao, Qing-jiang; Guo, Hong-ru & Cao, Gui-fang Abstract The possibility of ghrelin expressed in sheep oocytes and pre-implantation embryos produced in vivo was investigated in this study. The observed ghrelin immunoreactivity of oocytes and embryos at all stages was predominantly in the cytoplasm. Relative real-time reverse-transciptase (RT)-PCR experiments confirmed that the ghrelin mRNA levels varied depending on the developmental stage, with the highest expression in the blastocyst, metaphase II (MII) oocytes, 2- and 8-cell stages had a significantly higher expression in the germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes, 4-stage and morula. Dynamic changes and the persistent presence of the ghrelin signaling system within oocytes and pre-implantation embryos opens up the possibility of a potential regulatory role of this novel molecule during oocyte maturation and embryonic development. Keywords Ghrelin; Sheep oocytes; Embryos; Real time RT-PCR; Immunofluorescence staining

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