BACKGROUND This randomized controlled study was performed in an unselected IVF/ICSI population to test the hypothesis that blastocyst transfers result in higher clinical pregnancy rates (CPR) per oocyte retrieval when compared with day 2 transfers. METHODS Blind randomization for transfer on day 2 (group 1) or day 5/6 (group 2) was performed before stimulation. Oocytes and embryos were cultur...

After artificial insemination and multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET), in vitro production of embryos (IVP) represents the third generation of techniques aimed at a better control of animal reproduction. This technique involves four major steps (Figure 1): oocyte collection, oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF) and in vitro development of the resulting embryo...

Background: Recently, it has been found that exposure of sperm to PVP may cause submicroscopic changes in sperm structure and the sperm nucleus. The PVPinduced nuclear damage may have been due to breakdown of sperm membranes. Consequently, it is probable that exposure of sperm to PVP may impair embryo development. There are apparently no detailed reports regarding the specific effects of PVP on...

The causes of embryonic arrest during pre-implantation development are poorly understood. Attempts to correlate patterns of oocyte gene expression with successful embryo development have been hampered by the lack of reliable and nondestructive predictors of viability at such an early stage. Here we report that zygote viscoelastic properties can predict blastocyst formation in humans and mice wi...

Morphologic abnormalities in the oocyte are relevant for determining its developmental fate and could be related to controlled ovarian stimulation protocols and ovarian response. The contributing factors of oocyte dysmorphism incidence and its effects on fertilization potential and embryo development are the object of discussion in this study.

BACKGROUND Fat-rich diet may alter oocyte development and maturation and embryonic development by inducing oxidative stress (OS) in follicular environment. OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between fat intake and oxidative stress with oocyte competence and embryo quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS In observational study follicular fluid was collected from 236 women undergoing assisted r...

15 Fatty acid oxidation (FAO) is essential for oocyte maturation in mice. The objective of this 16 experiment was to determine the effect of etomoxir (a FAO inhibitor; 100 μM), carnitine (1 17 mM), and palmitic acid (1 or 100 μM) during maturation on metabolism and gene expression of 18 the oocyte and cumulus cells, and subsequent embryo development in the mouse. Carnitine 19 significantly incr...

BACKGROUND MicroRNA (miRNA) are small non-coding RNA molecules critical for regulating cellular function, and are abundant in the maturing oocyte and developing embryo. MiRNA-21 (MIR21) has been shown to elicit posttranscriptional gene regulation in several tissues associated with rapid cell proliferation in addition to demonstrating anti-apoptotic features through interactions with PDCD4 mRNA ...

The inheritance of maternal factors in oocytes plays a crucial role in development, particularly in non-mammalian species, where asymmetric segregation of developmental factors among early blastomeres regulates early patterning of the embryo. Whereas this role is less important in mammals, a number of studies have shown that maternal inheritance is equally critical for regulating development th...

Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the in vitro effects of physiologic concentration of adiponectin in follicular fluid of pre-ovulatory bovine ovarian follicles on: 1) the bovine oocyte maturation and the early developmental rates of bovine embryos in vitro; 2) the expression profiles of some developmentally important marker genes in the bovine cumulus cells and oocytes. Materi...