The present study was conducted to examine the effects of culture systems and culture media on developmental competence and freezability of bovine embryos obtained by in vitro culture of in vitro matured and fertilized (IVM-IVF) oocytes. No significant difference was observed in the proportions of oocytes developed to blastocysts, the speed at which the oocytes reached the blastocyst stage and ...

BACKGROUND In this review, recent advances in the laboratory as well as embryological aspects of hCG priming in vitro maturation (IVM) cycles are described. METHODS This report is based on publications from literature searches and the authors' experience. RESULTS In IVM cycles, priming with hCG permits the recovery of a certain number of oocytes with an expanding/dispersed cumulus pattern w...

BACKGROUND The presence of hydrosalpinges is associated with lower implantation and pregnancy rates in women undergoing IVF-embryo transfer, while salpingectomy improves these parameters. Although the mechanism by which hydrosalpinges affects fertility is not entirely understood, an adverse effect on endometrial receptivity has been postulated. In this study, we hypothesized that the adverse ef...

This review evaluates the quality of bovine embryos developed from in vitro-matured (IVM) and -fertilized (IVF) oocytes cultured in either serum-free or serum-containing media. Bovine embryos cultured in serum-supplemented medium contain numerous cytoplasmic lipid droplets and immature mitochondria compared to those cultured in serum-free medium. The accumulation of cytoplasmic lipids in embryo...

introduction: dehp [di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate)] is widely used in plastic industry and some reproductive toxicity has been shown with it. so, this study was designed to evaluate dehp effects on resumption of meiosis and in vitro maturation of mouse oocytes as well as development of embryos resulted from them. material and methods: mice of 4-6 weeks old were administered daily doses of 50, 100,...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding a combination of insulin, transferrin and selenium (ITS) and l-ascorbic acid (AA) during in vitro maturation (IVM) and in vitro culture (IVC) on in vitro embryo production. To verify the effect of the supplements, cleavage and blastocyst rates, embryo size and total cell number were performed. Embryonic development data, embryo size cat...

BACKGROUND Controlling nuclear maturation during oocyte culture might improve nuclear-cytoplasmic maturation synchrony. In the present study, the quality of mouse and human cumulus-enclosed oocytes (CEOs) was examined after a two-step culture consisting of a three-dimensional prematuration culture (3D-PMC), followed by in vitro maturation (IVM). METHODS Mouse and human CEOs were embedded in a...

In micromanipulation experiments using immature oocytes, final ooplasmic maturation is often compromised because the oocytes are usually first freed from their nurturing cumulus cells. This study was undertaken to determine whether cumulus-free in vitro maturation (IVM) in mice could be improved by modifying IVM medium having defined components. Cumulus-free germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes ...