Elevated concentrations of serum non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), associated with maternal disorders such as obesity and type II diabetes, alter the ovarian follicular micro-environment and have been associated with subfertility arising from reduced oocyte developmental competence. We have asked whether elevated NEFA concentrations during oocyte maturation affect the development and physiolog...

In the Drosophila oocyte, mRNA transport and localised translation play a fundamental role in axis determination and germline formation of the future embryo. gurken mRNA encodes a secreted TGF-α signal that specifies dorsal structures, and is localised to the dorso-anterior corner of the oocyte via a cis-acting 64 nucleotide gurken localisation signal. Using GRNA chromatography, we characterise...

OBJECTIVE To detect plasminogen and plasminogen activators (PA) in oviduct and oocytes and to clarify the role of the plasminogen/plasmin system on mammalian fertilization. DESIGN Experimental prospective study. SETTING Mammalian reproduction research laboratory. ANIMAL(S) Oviducts and ovaries from porcine and bovine females were collected at slaughterhouse. A total of 52 oviducts and 2,2...

background: there has been an increase in number of obese infertile females booked for advanced infertility treatment procedures like in vitro fertilization (ivf) and intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (icsi). the knowledge of impact of body mass index (bmi) on reproductive outcome can help to counsel these patients. objective: to compare reproductive outcome in females of different bmi after ic...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify a possible correlation between serum levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and oocyte quality, embryo developmental competence, and implantation potential. METHODS 4488 oocytes obtained from 408 patients undergoing ICSI cycles were evaluated. Oocyte dimorphisms, embryo quality on days two and three, blastocyst formation competence, fertilization rates, ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the presence and the numbers of corpora lutea (CL) in porcine ovaries on in vitro oocyte maturation and embryonic development following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). At oocyte collection, the ovaries of non-delivered and delivered pigs were classified into four groups by CL presence. The effect of the number of CL was also inves...

BACKGROUND A pre-ovarian block (POB) technique can be used for pain relief during oocyte retrieval in IVF. The local anaesthetic is deposited in the vaginal wall and between the vaginal wall and the peritoneal surface near the ovary using ultrasound guidance. The aim of this study was to test whether analgesia with POB resulted in improved pain relief compared to paracervical block (PCB). MET...

Numerous reports on reproductive pathology in all rhinoceros species illustrate the abundance of female infertility in captive populations. In infertile rhinoceroses, oocyte collection and embryo production could represent the best remaining option for these animals to reproduce and to contribute to the genetic pool. We report here on superstimulation, repeated oocyte recovery, and attempted in...

The specification of a germ cell as sperm or oocyte and determination of cell number remain unsolved questions in developmental biology. This paper examines Caenorhabditis elegans FOG-1, a CPEB-related RNA-binding protein that controls the sperm fate. We find that abundant FOG-1 protein is observed transiently in germ cells just prior to their expression of an early sperm-differentiation marker...

A major challenge of assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) is to mimic the natural environment required to sustain oocyte and embryo survival. Herein, we show that the ceramide-metabolizing enzyme, acid ceramidase (AC), is expressed in human cumulus cells and follicular fluid, essential components of this environment, and that the levels of this enzyme are positively correlated with the qua...