Since the introduction of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in clinical practice of infertility treatment, the indicators for high quality embryos were investigated. Cumulus cells (CC) have a specific gene expression profile according to the developmental potential of the oocyte they are surrounding, and therefore, specific gene expression could be used as a biomarker. The aim of our study was to co...

During embryo implantation in the human trophoblast cells invade the endometrium and plasminogen activators (PA) are implicated in this tissue invasion process. Our studies on surplus embryos from patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments showed that PA activity was present in secretions of blastocysts but not embryos at the 2-4-cell stage. The secretion of this PA activity by...

Embryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which one or several embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy. Currently this biotechnology has become one of the prominent high businesses worldwide. This technique, which is often used in connection with in vitro fertilization (IVF), has widely been used in animals or hum...

The prevalence of diabetes is increasing worldwide with the trend of patients being young and creating a significant burden on health systems, including reproductiveproblems,but theeffectsofdiabeteson embryo implantation are still poorly understood. Our study was to examine effects of diabetes on mouse embryo implantation, providing experimental basis for treating diabetes and its complications...

Leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) plays an indispensible role in embryo implantation. Aberrant LIF production is linked to implantation failure. LIF regulates multiple processes prior to and during implantation such as uterine transformation into a receptive state, decidualization, blastocyst growth and development, embryo-endometrial interaction, trophoblast invasion, and immune modulation. Du...

Leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) plays an essential role during cell differentiation and implantation in the mouse exerting its effects via the two dimerizing receptor subunits glycoprotein 130 (gp130) and LIF-receptor beta (LR-beta). This study investigated the mRNA expression of bovine LIF (bLIF), gp130 and LR-beta in pooled or individual bovine oocytes and embryos generated in vitro or in v...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify useful clinical factors for the identification of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who would benefit from in vitro maturation (IVM) treatment without exhibiting compromised pregnancy outcomes. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was performed of 186 consecutive patients with PCOS who underwent human chorionic gonadotropin-prim...

The mammalian embryo develops as a quasi-stem cell system whose differentiation and pluripotentiality in vitro is controlled by a single regulatory factor, Differentiation Inhibiting Activity/Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (DIA/LIF). DIA/LIF is expressed in two distinct functional forms, derived from the use of alternate transcriptional start sites, one of which is freely diffusible and the other t...

Biotechnology has proceeded much further in cats than in canines, although the pregnancy rate after in vitro maturation (IVM), IVC and embryo transfer (ET) is still relatively low. The use of AI with frozen-thawed semen as a breeding tool to overcome breeding incompatibility or to preserve male genetic material has been limited in felines in contrast to the situation in domestic dogs and foxes....

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) on bovine embryonic development in vitro. Human recombinant VEGF(165) was employed at 5 ng/ml in modified synthetic oviduct fluid. In Exp. 1, bovine cumulus oocyte complexes were matured with or without VEGF for 22 hr, inseminated without VEGF for 6 hr, then cultured with or without VEGF for 42...