A renal cDNA clone (rBAT) that induces system bo,+-like amino acid transport activity in Xenopus oocytes has recently been isolated (Bertran, J., Werner, A., Moore, M. L., Strange, G., Markovich, D., Biber, J., Testar, X., Zorzano, A., Palacín, and Murer, H. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 5601-5605). Here we show the isolation of a cDNA clone by screening a human kidney cortex cDNA li...

The extent to which the morphology of the oocyte at the light microscopy level is related to the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is controversial. In this study, after cumulus removal, oocytes were graded into four groups according to the status of the first polar body, size of the perivitelline space and the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions. Oocyte data from 65 consecutive...

The nature of the relationship between crossing over and failed segregation in human oocytes is of obvious interest. A recent paper by Cheng and colleagues provides important insights into the distribution of crossover events (as marked by MLH1 foci) in human oocytes and raises complex questions regarding discrepancies between direct cytological assessment of exchange and measurement of crossin...

BACKGROUND Recently described slow-cooling cryopreservation protocols involving elevated sucrose concentration have improved survival frequencies of human oocytes, potentially overcoming a major hurdle that has limited the adoption of oocyte storage. Because implantation rates of embryos from frozen oocytes remain generally low, it is still debated whether, irrespective of survival rates, this ...

Background: Abnormal oocyte morphology has been associated with the hormonal environment to which the gametes are exposed. In this study, we evaluated the oocytes morphology, fertilization rate, embryos quality, and implantation rate resulted of retrieved oocytes in different times after human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) administration. Materials and Methods: A total of 985 metaphase II were ...

The physiological trigger for meiotic resumption in the human oocyte is the surge of luteinizing hormone, but it can also occur spontaneously if oocytes are released from antral follicles and cultured in vitro. The development of novel techniques for the culture of murine oocytes has raised the possibility of growing human oocytes to maturity in vitro. Such a system could open the door to a num...

BACKGROUND Meiotic spindles in living human oocytes can be visualized by the Polscope. This study investigated the relationship between the presence/location of the spindle in metaphase II (MII) oocytes and developmental competence of embryos in vitro. METHODS The spindles in 626 MII oocytes were examined by the Polscope and divided into six groups (A-F) based on the presence or absence of th...

OBJECTIVE To investigate functionally important transcripts in single human oocytes with the use of NanoString technology and determine whether observed differences are biologically meaningful. DESIGN Analysis of human oocytes with the use of NanoString and immunoblotting. SETTING University-affiliated reproductive medicine unit. PATIENTS Women undergoing in vitro fertilization. INTERVE...

STUDY QUESTION Can amino acid profiling differentiate between human oocytes with differing competence to mature to metaphase II (MII) in vitro? SUMMARY ANSWER Oocytes which remained arrested at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage after 24 h of in vitro maturation (IVM) displayed differences in the depletion/appearance of amino acids compared with oocytes which progressed to MII and patient age, i...