The proportion of transferable beef embryos obtained after superovulation, follicle aspiration, and in vitro maturation and fertilization has been small. To seek possible explanations, cows on different planes of nutrition were treated with exogenous gonadotropin and oocytes were isolated from their ovaries. The record for each oocyte included characteristics of the follicle, ovary, and cow fro...

Mitochondrial quality control is important for maintaining cellular and oocyte viability. In addition, aging affects mitochondrial quality in many cell types. In the present study, we examined how aging affects oocyte mitochondrial biogenesis and degeneration in response to induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Cumulus oocyte complexes were harvested from the ovaries of young (21‒45 months) and ag...

The aim of this report has been evaluating protamine content and DNA integrity of two patients with globozoospermia undergoing Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). Semen analysis was carried out according to WHO criteria. Protamine deficiency and DNA fragmentation was assessed using Chromomycin A3 and sperm chromatin dispersion assay respectively. ICSI and chemical activation were carried ...

BACKGROUND Chemical activation is the most frequently used method for artificial oocyte activation (AOA), results in high fertilization rate. OBJECTIVE This prospective, randomized, unblinded, clinical study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of oocyte activation with calcium ionophore on fertilization and pregnancy rate after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in infertile men suffer from...

Mitochondria play vital roles in oocyte functions and they are critical indicators of oocyte quality which is important for fertilization and development into viable offspring. Quality-compromised oocytes are correlated with infertility, developmental disorders, reduced blastocyst cell number and embryo loss in which mitochondrial dysfunctions play a significant role. Increasingly, women affect...

Adequate endometrial preparation with exogenous steroids is mandatory for successful ovum donation. This study was undertaken to assess the value of endometrial thickness by ultrasound and serum oestradiol as predictors of ovum donation outcome and to analyse the correlation between serum oestradiol concentrations and the endometrial thickness. Endometrial thickness and serum oestradiol concent...

Oocytes of the marine bivalve Mactra chinensis are spawned and arrested at the germinal vesicle stage (first meiotic prophase) until fertilization, without undergoing a process called oocyte maturation. As is the case of other animals, a fertilized oocyte of the bivalve displays increases in intracellular free Ca(2+). We have clarified here the spatiotemporal patterns and sources of the intrace...

BACKGROUND Oocyte secreted factors (OSFs), including growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), play an important role in the process of follicular development and oocyte maturation. Since OSFs are expressed in oocytes and cumulus granulosa cells, the aim of the present study was to explore whether the expression levels of GDF9 and BMP15 mRNAs in cumulus g...

OBJECTIVE To analyze data from a large multicenter study to determine whether pregnancy and delivery rates decrease with repeated IVF-ET cycles. DESIGN Multicenter retrospective study. SETTING Participating centers from the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology. PATIENT(S) Fifty-four centers contributed 4,043 cycles of oocyte retrieval for uterine transfer. INTERVENTION(S) Oocyte ...