L-carnitine decreases DNA damage and improves the in vitro blastocyst development rate in mouse embryos.

OBJECTIVE To optimize the L-carnitine (LC) concentration as a supplement in embryo culture medium and to investigate the effect of LC on developing embryos. DESIGN Experimental study. SETTING Reproductive research center at a tertiary hospital. INTERVENTION(S) To optimize the LC concentration, 420 mouse embryos were divided into seven groups and incubated with different LC concentrations (0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.5, 5.0, and 10 mg/mL). To investigate the effect of LC on the developing embryos, 500 mouse embryos were divided into three groups and incubated with either actinomycin-D (AD; 0.005 microg/mL), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2); 500 micromol/L), or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha; 500 ng) with and without LC 0.3 or 0.6 mg/mL. Blastocyst development rate (%BDR) and DNA damage were examined for all groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Effect of LC on embryogenesis. RESULT(S) Significant improvement in %BDR was seen at LC 0.3 mg/mL compared with the control (p = 0.006). L-Carnitine at 0.3 and 0.6 mg/mL significantly reduced the blocking effect of AD, H(2)O(2), and TNF-alpha and significantly decreased the level of DNA damage. CONCLUSION(S) Embryo culture medium supplementation with LC may offer a novel and a cost-effective technique to improve the embryogenesis of cultured embryos. This may be beneficial in improving IVF outcomes.