Research Paper Volume 17, Issue 7 pp 1762—1783

Figure 4. Effects of pterostilbene ingestion on mitochondrial functions in oocytes derived from aged mice. Mature oocytes derived from aged mice without (control) or with 22 weeks of pterostilbene (PTS) ingestion, and young animals without pterostilbene ingestion (young) were subjected to different mitochondrial assays. (A, B) Mitochondrial membrane potential. (A) Representative fluorescence images demonstrating mitochondrial membrane potential, visualized using the MitoTracker™ dye (orange). The oocyte nuclei were counterstained with Hoechst 33342 (blue). Scale bars, 20 μm. (B) The fluorescence intensities of mitochondrial membrane potential. The intensity of mitochondrial fluorescence in ooplasm of mature oocytes was measured, excluding that in the first polar body (n=10 oocytes per group). (C) ATP levels in mature oocytes. The ATP levels per mature oocyte were quantified using the ATP-Glo™ Bioluminometric Cell Viability Assay Kit (young: n=26, control: n=29, and PTS: n=19 oocytes). (D) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy numbers of mature oocytes. The copy number was measured by absolute real-time RT-PCR. (young: n=18 oocytes, control: n=11, PTS: n=13 oocytes). The bars represent the mean ± SE. Different letter (A, B) indicate significant differences (p < 0.05) between the same symbols.