Publications by authors named "Pedro Belchin"
Purpose: Determine if the gene expression profiles of ovarian support cells (OSCs) and cumulus-free oocytes are bidirectionally influenced by co-culture during in vitro maturation (IVM).
Methods: Fertility patients aged 25 to 45 years old undergoing conventional ovarian stimulation donated denuded immature oocytes for research. Oocytes were randomly allocated to either OSC-IVM culture (intervention) or Media-IVM culture (control) for 24-28 h.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates whether co-culturing human oocytes with ovarian support cells (OSCs) from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) enhances the maturation and developmental potential of the oocytes compared to a standard in vitro maturation (IVM) system.
- Results indicate that oocytes matured using OSC-IVM show significantly higher rates of metaphase II (MII) formation and successful blastocyst development, outperforming traditional IVM methods.
- The research included 67 donors, focusing on women aged 19 to 37, and was conducted over 15 months to evaluate various fertility parameters and compare outcomes between OSC-IVM and control conditions.
Research Question: What is the effect of a novel non-centrifugation method (Io-Lix) of sperm selection on sperm parameters and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) reproductive outcomes?
Design: This pilot study elevated the capacity of the Io-Lix sperm selection protocol to improve sperm parameters (concentration, motility and sperm DNA fragmentation) of the neat ejaculate. Once established, the reproductive outcomes of Io-Lix selected spermatozoa were used for autologous and donor oocyte ICSI programmes and their efficacy compared with those using conventional swim-up.
Results: Io-Lix sperm selection resulted in lower sperm concentration yield (P < 0.