Blastocyst quality score (BQS), first reported by Rehman et al., is a numerical blastocyst-morphology grading system based on the criteria established by Gardner and Schoolcraft. We demonstrate a positive correlation between the calculated BQS score and cell number by staining thawed human embryos and suggest that BQS can be applied to evaluate culture systems clinically.

this study was designed to compare the effectiveness of different activation treatments for activation of in vitro matured oocytes and their developmental potency in mcr2aa medium so as to obtain maximum number of embryos. a total of 1090 cumulus oocyte complexes (coc’s) were collected from 480 ovaries. in vitro matured oocytes were randomly divided into four groups. group 1 in vitro matured oo...

Morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) can induce gene silencing by binding to a target mRNA and inhibiting its translation, and this technique has been especially successful in studies of embryonic development in various vertebrates. But in mice MO-induced downregulation of target genes has not been widely reported. In this study, we examined whether MO delivery using ethoxylated polyethylenimine (E...

Appropriate embryonic and fetal development significantly impact pregnancy success and, therefore, the efficiency of swine production. The pre-implantation period of porcine pregnancy is characterized by several developmental hallmarks, which are initiated by the dramatic morphological change that occurs as pig blastocysts elongate from spherical to filamentous blastocysts. Deficiencies in blas...

Because latent form of matrix metallopeptidase-9 (proMMP9) levels are positively related to blastocyst development, it was hypothesized that addition during maturation may improve development of heat-stressed oocytes. To test hypothesis, 0, 30 or 300 ng/ml human proMMP9 (hMMP9) was added at 18 h of in vitro maturation (hIVM) to cumulus-oocyte complexes matured at 38.5 or 41.0ºC (first 12 h only...

OBJECTIVE To compare three different in vitro maturation (IVM) media for immature oocytes. DESIGN Experimental study. SETTING In vitro fertilization laboratory. ANIMAL(S) BDF1 female and male mice. INTERVENTION(S) Retrieval and maturation of cumulus-enclosed germinal vesicle-stage oocytes according to one of three protocols: group A, conventional IVM medium; group B, blastocyst culture ...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of blastocyst culture in patients with azoospermia. METHODS In 98 cycles embryos were cultured for 2 days and in 128 cycles for 5 days to reach the blastocyst stage; a maximum of two of the most developed embryos were transferred in each group. RESULTS There was a negative correlation between a high (>/=20 IU/l) male serum FSH and em...

During mouse pre-implantation development, extra-embryonic primitive endoderm (PrE) and pluripotent epiblast precursors are specified in the inner cell mass (ICM) of the early blastocyst in a 'salt and pepper' manner, and are subsequently sorted into two distinct layers. Positional cues provided by the blastocyst cavity are thought to be instrumental for cell sorting; however, the sequence of e...

A linear application of simplistic, largely deterministic and logically reliable model of operations has, in past, held the notion that three primary modules are integral to the physiological process of blastocyst implantation in the human: endometrial competence, adequate progesterone priming, and viable endometrium – embryo dialogue (1, 2). However, blastocyst implantation is not a highly pro...

Enrichment of culture media with amino acids improves embryo development. However, little is known about the specific action of each amino acid during embryogenesis. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of L-glutamine (Gln) and tryptophan (Trp) on mouse embryo hatching, expansion and viability in vitro. Blastocysts were collected from 6- to 8-week-old female BALB/c mice (N = 3...