BACKGROUND To better understand the differences between in vivo (IVO) and in vitro (IVM) matured oocytes, we studied the chronological changes in cortical granule (CG) distribution and nuclear progression during maturation, and the competence of CG release and embryo development of mouse oocytes matured under different conditions. METHODS Oocytes matured in vivo or in different culture media ...

Today a key component to infertility treatment with in vitro fertilization (IVF) is controlled ovarian hyper-stimulation (COH), a process whereby supra-physiological amounts of exogenous gonadotropins are administered for the purpose of inducing multi-follicular growth. It is generally accepted that the number of mature oocytes retrieved relates to the number of embryos available for transfer w...

The development of an effective program that combines in vitro maturation (IVM) and cryopreservation for immature oocytes would represent a novel advance for in vitro fertilization (IVF), especially as a means to preserve the fertility of women in unique situations. The aim of this study was to analyze the ultrastructural characteristics of human oocytes, obtained after controlled ovarian stimu...

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is essential for embryo implantation in mice and plays an important role in other mammals including humans. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections with anti-LIF antibody (7.5 µg/g body weight, 3 times) between D3 (D1 = day of vaginal plug detection) and D4 effectively blocked embryo implantation; complete inhibition was achieved in C57BL/6J mice, and implantation was...

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are associated with several complications including low birth weight, abnormal placentation and increased risk for rare imprinting disorders. Indeed, experimental studies demonstrate ART procedures independent of existing infertility induce epigenetic perturbations in the embryo and extraembryonic tissues. To test the hypothesis that these epigenetic per...

Background: The process of implantation involves the interaction of the human embryo and the uterine epithelium. Failure of implantation is a major reason for infertility in women and the inability to achieve endometrial receptivity is responsible for much of the failure of reproductive technologies. Management of repeated implantation failure despite transfer of good-quality embryos still rema...

We performed a double-blinded retrospective cohort study to determine whether endometrial expression of mouse ascites Golgi mucin in a natural, unmedicated cycle predicts subsequent IVF-ET outcome among women with prior IVF-ET failure and poor pre-embryo quality. We found a statistically significant decrease in clinical pregnancy rate among women with abnormal mouse ascites Golgi expression, a ...

A prospective, randomized study of 158 patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer was conducted to evaluate whether a shortened exposure of oocytes to spermatozoa enhances oocyte development, and subsequently influences the IVF outcome. A comparison was made between conventional treatment time and shorter exposure of retrieved oocytes to spermatozoa. Fertilization and ...

BACKGROUND A scoring system has been developed to determine preimplantation embryo quality, and used to select embryos for transfer into the uterus of patients. METHODS AND RESULTS The system was used to study early embryo development and to test whether these scores alone can accurately predict IVF outcome. Following zygote and embryo scores through early development, the data showed that a ...

A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of FSH supplementation during IVM on porcine oocyte nuclear maturation, and subsequent fertilization, cleavage and embryo development. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured 40 h without FSH (control), 40 h with FSH (FSH 0-40 h), or 20 h with FSH followed by a 20-h culture period without FSH (FSH 0-20 h). Nuclear stage of ooc...