Ultrasonography is a powerful tool to non-invasively monitor in real time the development of the human fetus in utero. Although genetically engineered mice have served as valuable in vivo models to study both embryo implantation and pregnancy progression, such studies usually require sacrifice of parous mice for subsequent phenotypic analysis. To address this issue, we used three-dimensional (3...

introduction: determination of best culture medium for fertilization and development of nmri mice. material and methods: development of fertilized mature oocytes of nmri mice was studied for five days in several culture media (ksom, t6, m16, czb, g1tm ver3 and g2tm ver3) following hormone therapy with pmsg and hcg. results: the rate of fertilization after 24 hours was 97.4% in ksom, 83.5% in t6...

In this study, the use of Ca2+/Mg2+-free medium for biopsy of human embryos at the 4- to 10-cell stage on the third day of development was evaluated. When compared with control medium containing normal concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions, the use of Ca2+/Mg2+-free medium allows an easier removal of blastomeres as illustrated by a lower rate of cell lysis as well as by a shorter time needed to ...

There is increasing evidence that even before implantation, human development is regulated by embryonically and maternally derived growth factors. Studies in other mammalian species have shown that growth factors and their receptors are expressed by the preimplantation embryo and the reproductive tract. Furthermore, a number of growth factors have been shown to affect rate of embryo development...

The causes of embryonic arrest during pre-implantation development are poorly understood. Attempts to correlate patterns of oocyte gene expression with successful embryo development have been hampered by the lack of reliable and nondestructive predictors of viability at such an early stage. Here we report that zygote viscoelastic properties can predict blastocyst formation in humans and mice wi...

Pluripotency is defined by a cell's potential to differentiate into any somatic cell type. How pluripotency is transited during embryo implantation, followed by cell lineage specification and establishment of the basic body plan, is poorly understood. Here we report the transcription factor Zfp281 functions in the exit from naive pluripotency occurring coincident with pre-to-post-implantation m...

Desmocollin 3 (Dsc3) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that belongs to the cadherin family of cell adhesion receptors. Together with desmoglein(s), it forms the transmembrane core of desmosomes, a multiprotein complex involved in cell adhesion, organization of the cytoskeleton, cell sorting and cell signaling. Previous reports have suggested that Dsc3 synthesis is largely restricted to stratified...

The purpose of the present review is to outline the current understanding on the molecular mechanisms governing various stages of oocyte maturation, transition from maternal to embryonic control and the initial steps of pre-embryo development. The cytoplasmic and nuclear maturation of the oocyte during pre-ovulatory development can be viewed as separate entities. Cytoplasmic maturation and the ...

The mechanisms by which synchronized embryonic development to the blastocyst stage, preparation of the uterus for the receptive state, and reciprocal embryo-uterine interactions for implantation are coordinated are still unclear. We show in this study that preimplantation embryo development became asynchronous in mice that are deficient in brain-type (CB1) and/or spleen-type (CB2) cannabinoid r...

Assessment of embryo quality in order to choose the embryos that most likely result in pregnancy is the critical goal in assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The current trend in human in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer (IVF/ET) protocols is to decrease the rate of multiple pregnancies after multiple embryo transfer with maintaining the pregnancy rate at admissible levels (according to...