In Vitro Production of Embryos: Principles, Techniques and Applications

This review aimed to give a brief account on the principles, techniques and applications for in vitro production (IVP) of embryos and related biotechnologies. IVP of embryos provides an excellent source of low cost embryos for basic research on developmental biology and physiology and for the application of emerging biotechnologies such as nuclear transfer, production of transgenic animals, embryonic stem cells (ESCs), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) embryo splitting, parthenogenetic activation and generation of interspecies chimeras. The successful development and application of IVP of embryos and related technologies depend on a whole range of basic protocols including in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (conventional IVF, parthenogenetic or ICSI) and in vitro culture (IVC) of fertilized oocytes. Advances in these techniques during the last decades have been rapid and impressive and culture media play a major role in this success. Recent advances in stem cells and gene engineering have paved the way for the generation of human induced Embryonic Stem Cells (iESCs) essential for creation of xenotransplants. Generation of human Pluripotent Embryonic Stem Cells (hPESCs), from parthenogenetic activation of human infertility treatments, gained new interest as ethical circumvent to create embryos for research in regenerative and therapeutic medicine.