Blastocyst formation marks the segregation of the first two cell lineages in the mammalian preimplantation embryo: the inner cell mass (ICM) that will form the embryo proper and the trophectoderm (TE) that gives rise to the trophoblast lineage. Commitment to ICM lineage is attributed to the function of the two transcription factors, Oct4 (encoded by Pou5f1) and Nanog. However, a positive regula...

In the present study, the effects of retinoid metabolite administration during in vitro maturation (IVM) on oocyte maturation, parameters of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and embryo development were examined. Varying concentrations of 9-cis retinoic acid (RA; 0, 5, 50 and 500 nm; Experiment 1) and all-trans retinol (ROH; 0, 125, 1250 and 12 500 nm; Experiment 2) were included in the maturation m...

Background: Embryo vitrification was effectively used for assisted reproductive techniques. Despite the undeniable benefits of vitrification, cooling and warming stress, and cytotoxicity of cryoprotectant may affect the DNA methylation that have an important role in gene activation and silencing. In the present study effects of 2-cell embryo vitrification on DNA methylation in hatched blastocys...

Abstract Background The routine semen analysis fails to detect sperm DNA damage which contributes the majority of male factor infertility. Sperm fragmentation test (DFI) measures damage. Blastocyst formation is an important step in IVF ± ICSI. At present, literature lacks any data that correlates DFI and blastocyst formation. Main body abstract We searched MEDLINE other databases till 2020 for ...

Mammalian blastocyst formation is characterized by two lineage segregations resulting in the formation of the trophectoderm, the hypoblast, and the epiblast cell lineages. Cell fate determination during these early lineage segregations is associated with changes in the expression of specific transcription factors. In addition to the transcription factor-based control, it has become clear that a...

We assessed the effect of pretreating sperm with dithiobutylamine (DTBA) to improve embryo development by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in cows. Acridine Orange staining revealed that when applied at different concentrations (2.5, 5, and 10 mM) and exposure times (5 min, 20 min, 1 h, and 2 h), DTBA reduced disulfide bonds in spermatozoa with the highest efficacy at 5 mM for 5 min. DTB...

background: matrigel (extracellular matrix) can improve the growth of many cell types in vitro. objective: the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of matrigel on the development of 2-4 cells human embryos in culture. material and methods: surplus 2-4 cells human embryos, resulting from icsi, were divided into two groups (control and test). quality of embryos in both groups was ...

The transcription factor Oct4 is required in vitro for establishment and maintenance of embryonic stem cells and for reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotency. In vivo, it prevents the ectopic differentiation of early embryos into trophoblast. Here, we further explore the role of Oct4 in blastocyst formation and specification of epiblast versus primitive endoderm lineages using conditional ge...