P genetic diagnosis (PGD), also known as embryonic screening, allows parents and doctors to screen fertilized embryos and pre-fertilized oocytes for numerous characteristics, particularly genetically inherited diseases. PGD is an extension of in vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF, oocytes are obtained, fertilized outside of the body, and implanted in the woman’s uterus. While IVF facilitates fer...

The extraction of intact RNA from oocyte is quite challenging and time-consuming. A standard protocol using commercial RNA extraction kit, yields a low quantity of RNA in oocytes. In the past, several attempts in getting RNA for gene expression study ended up with a few different modified methods. Extraction of high-quality RNA from oocyte is important before further downstream analyses such as...

BACKGROUND E(epithelial)-cadherin is a vital cell adhesion protein that plays a critical role in morphogenesis. Previous studies of E-cadherin distribution in human embryos have produced equivocal results. METHODS Immunocytochemistry in conjunction with laser scanning confocal microscopy was used to detect E-cadherin in 97 human cleavage stage embryos and 35 blastocysts from normal and abnorm...

Background: The beneficial effect of supplementing culture medium with melatonin has been reported during in vitro embryo development of species such as mouse, bovine and porcine. However, the effect of melatonin on the mouse somatic cell nuclear transfer remained unknown. Materials and Methods: In this study, we assessed the effects of various concentrations of melatonin (10-6 to 10-12 M) on t...