Blastocysts from estrogen-stimulated mice tend to be very sticky, a characteristic which can be correlated with estrogen-induced enzyme activation and changes in the surface coat of the trophoblast cells. The blastocyst surface coat was investigated using colloidal ironPrussian blue stain. In addition, the activity of tyrosine aminotransferase was assayed histochemically in preimplantation blas...

Nuclei isolated from green fluorescent protein-marked neurons in the cerebral cortex of juvenile mice (14-21 d after birth) were injected into enucleated oocytes that were allowed to develop into blastocysts. Embryonic stem (ES) cell lines were established from the inner cell mass of 76 cloned blastocysts after injecting 2026 neuronal nuclei. Some ES cells were injected individually into enucle...

background: indisputable population exposure to widespread electromagnetic fields, has grown concerns over the probable health effects of these fields. objective: the present study was aimed to examine the possible effects of 50 hz extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (elf-emf) exposure on the number and quality of mice blastocysts. materials and methods: in present study, 66 nmri preg...

Intraand inter-line transfers of blastocysts were performed between two lines of mice selected for high (H6) and low (L6) body weight at 6 weeks of age. A greater percentage of L6 blastocysts survived to term than did H6 blastocysts (7\m=.\8%,P < 0\m=.\01)and more L6 recipients littered than did the H6 recipients (19\m=.\7%,P < 0\m=.\01).A greater percentage of the mice born to the L6 recipient...

STUDY QUESTION Does Let-7a have a functional role in modulating dicer expression to activate dormant mouse blastocysts for implantation? SUMMARY ANSWER Let-7a post-transcriptionally regulates dicer expression altering microRNA expression to affect the implantation competency of the activated blastocysts. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The Let-7a microRNA is up-regulated during blastocyst dormancy an...

STUDY QUESTION What are the clinical efficacy and perinatal outcomes following transfer of vitrified blastocysts compared with transfer of fresh or of slow frozen blastocysts? SUMMARY ANSWER Compared with slow frozen blastocysts, vitrified blastocysts resulted in significantly higher clinical pregnancy and live delivery rates with similar perinatal outcomes at population level. WHAT IS KNOW...

The extent to which trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM) lineages in the mouse blastocyst remain distinct during the period from the commencement of cavitation up until 48 h later in culture was investigated. Fluorescent latex microparticles were used to label exclusively all TE cells in nascent blastocysts and the position of labelled progeny in cultured blastocysts was examined by dis...

Rabbit inner cell masses (ICMs) have been prepared by immunosurgery from 96-h-old blastocysts. Their properties are described. It is shown that ICMs prepared this way retain their developmental potentialities. In particular if they are injected into host blastocysts, they appear to be able to participate in the development of the composite blastocysts thus obtained: upon implantation into a fos...

Mouse blastocysts in culture have been treated with increasing concentrations of cytosine arabinoside, bromodeoxyuridine or Colcemid. Concentrations of all three antimetabolites have been found which interfere with neither hatching of the blastocysts from their zona pellucidae nor subsequent attachment of the blastocysts to the culture dish, but which eventually result in death of the inner cel...

BACKGROUND In vitro culture (IVC) and IVF of preimplantation mouse embryos are associated with changes in gene expression. It is however not known whether ICSI has additional effects on the transcriptome of mouse blastocysts. METHODS We compared gene expression and development of mouse blastocysts produced by ICSI and cultured in Whitten's medium (ICSI(WM)) or KSOM medium with amino acids (IC...