Nicotine-induced Disturbances of Meiotic Maturation in Cultured Mouse Oocytes: Alterations of Spindle Integrity and Chromosome Alignment

We investigated whether nicotine exposure in vitro of mouse oocytes affects spindle and chromosome function during meiotic maturation (M-I and M-II). Oocytes in germinal vesicle (GV) stage were cultured in nicotine for 8 h or for 16 h, to assess effects in M-I and in metaphase II (M-II). The latter culture setting used the three protocols: 8 h nicotine then 8 h medium (8N + 8M); 16 h nicotine (16N); 8 h medium then 8 h nicotine (8M + 8N). Non-toxic concentrations of nicotine at 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mmol/L were used. Spindle-chromosome configurations were analyzed with wide-field optical sectioning microscopy. In 8 h cultures, nicotine exposure resulted in dose-related increased proportions of M-I oocytes with defective spindle-chromosome configurations. A dose-related delayed entry into anaphase I was also detected. In 16 h cultures, nicotine exposure for the first 8 h (8N + 8M), or for 16 h (16N), resulted in dose- and time-related increased proportions of oocytes arrested in M-I (10 mmol/L; 8 h: 53.2%, controls 9.6%; 16 h: 87.6%, controls 8.5%). Defects in M-I spindles and chromosomes caused M-I arrest leading to dose-related decreased proportions of oocytes that reached metaphase-II (10 mmol/L 8 h: 46.8%, controls 90.4%;16 h: 12.4%, controls 91.5%). A delayed anaphase-I affected the normal timing of M-II, leading to abnormal oocytes with dispersed chromosomes, or with double spindles and no polar body. Nicotine exposure during the second 8 h (8M + 8N) resulted in dose-related, increased proportions of M-II oocytes with defective spindles and chromosomes (10 mmol/L: 42.9%, controls 2.0%). Nicotine has no adverse effects on GV break down, but induces spindle and chromosome defects compromising oocyte meiotic maturation and development.