With the development of commercially available sequential media it is now possible to grow human embryos to the blastocyst stage without feeder cells. The transfer of blastocysts offers several advantages, the most important being synchronization of the embryos with the uterine endometrium and selection of the best quality embryos with a high implantation potential. This study was conducted to compare the efficiency of day 2 and day 5 transfer in a prospective randomized trial involving patients for whom embryo selection was possible (i.e. those with more than three embryos on day 2 following insemination). We obtained equivalent clinical pregnancy rates per cycle for day 2 (41.7%) and day 5 (38.8%) transfer, but fewer embryos were transferred on day 5 (2.24 versus 3.03). The implantation rates were 18.9% on day 2 and 24.1% on day 5. Selected patients with a good response to gonadotrophins (at least eight good quality metaphase II oocytes) may therefore benefit from blastocyst transfer by a reduction in the multiple pregnancy rate, provided no more than two (or even one) blastocyst is transferred.
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Theriogenology
January 2025
Department of Theriogenology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:
Follicular fluid-derived meiosis-activating sterol (FF-MAS), an intermediate in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, plays a crucial role in the meiotic resumption of mammalian oocytes. Maintaining a high concentration of FF-MAS in vitro is challenging; therefore, AY9944 A-7, an inhibitor of Δ14-reductase [which converts FF-MAS to testis meiosis-activating sterol (T-MAS)] and Δ7-reductase (which converts T-MAS to cholesterol), has been used to enhance oocyte maturation. This study examined the effects of various concentrations (0, 10, 20, and 40 μM) of AY9944 A-7 on porcine oocyte maturation and subsequent embryo development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Gynecol Obstet
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, 845 Rue Sherbrooke, O, Montreal, QC, 3HA 0G4, Canada.
Purpose: To examine the association between blastocyst morphology and chromosomal status utilizing pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A).
Methods: A single-center retrospective cohort study including 169 in-vitro fertilization cycles that underwent PGT-A using Next Generation Sequencing (2017-2022). Blastocysts were morphologically scored based on Gardner and Schoolcraft's criteria.
Reprod Domest Anim
February 2025
Veterinary Embryology Laboratory, Professional School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Sicuani-Cusco, Peru.
Currently, incubators with a time-lapse system are widely used for in vitro embryo production in several species, however, their effect on alpaca embryo development compared to conventional incubators remains unknown. The aim of this study was to compare early in vitro embryo development in alpacas using a time-lapse incubator system versus a conventional incubator. Ovaries were obtained from a slaughterhouse and 1048 cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected and in vitro matured for 26 h in either a time-lapse system (n = 542) or a conventional incubator (n = 542).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJDS Commun
January 2025
Department of Animal Sciences and D.H. Barron Reproductive and Perinatal Biology Research Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0910.
Pharmacological elevation of cyclic AMP (cAMP) of cultured cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) before or coincident with initiation of maturation has been reported to improve outcomes for various systems for in vitro production of embryos. Here it was hypothesized that artificial elevation of cAMP in the oocyte for a 2-h period of prematuration would improve developmental competence of matured oocytes and result in increased blastocyst yield and altered expression of genes important for embryonic differentiation. Treated COC were cultured for 2 h with dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP), a membrane-permeable form of cAMP, and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), which inhibits phosphodiesterases that convert cAMP to ATP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferentiation
January 2025
Yanagimachi Institute for Biogenesis Research, Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA. Electronic address:
The trophectoderm (TE) is the first tissue to differentiate during the preimplantation development of the mammalian embryo. It forms the outer layer of the blastocyst and is responsible for generating the blastocoel, a fluid-filled cavity whose expansion is essential for successful hatching and implantation. Here, we investigated the role of the small GTPase RHOA in the morphogenesis of the TE, particularly its relationship with HIPPO signaling, using mouse embryos as a model.
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