Melatonin promotes human oocyte maturation and early embryo development by enhancing clathrin‐mediated endocytosis

Abstract Embryo development potential and reproductive clinical outcomes are all deeply rooted in oocyte maturation. Melatonin has been reported to promote oocyte maturation as an antioxidant in nonprimate species. Its antioxidative functions also help reduce plasma membrane rigidity, which facilitates clathrin‐mediated endocytosis (CME). Whether melatonin has effects on human oocyte maturation by regulating CME is worthy of exploration. In this study, we found that the optimal melatonin concentration for human oocyte maturation was 10 −11 M, and the maturation rate of this group was 71.9% ( P = .03). The metaphase II (MII) stage oocytes obtained by in vitro maturation with 10 −11 M melatonin had a significantly higher fertilization rate (81.4% vs 61.4%, respectively, P = .017) and blastocyst rate (32.2% vs 15.8%, respectively, P = .039) compared to controls. During maturation, antioxidative melatonin greatly enhanced CME and decreased intra‐oocyte cAMP level. The former was evidenced by the increasing numbers of coated pits and vesicles, and the upregulated expression of two major CME markers—clathrin and adaptor protein‐2 (AP2). CME inhibitor dynasore increased intra‐oocyte cAMP level and blocked oocyte maturation, and melatonin could partly rescue oocyte maturation and significantly elevate the expression of clathrin and AP2 in the presence of dynasore. Therefore, we conclude that melatonin could promote human oocyte maturation and early embryo development through enhancing CME.