L-carnitine (LC) is an antioxidant with the ability to promote the growth in vitro embryo. OBJECTIVE The goal was to evaluate the effect of LC on some indicators of embryo development and blastocyst quality including zona pellucid (ZP) thickness, the hatching of blastocysts and their cell numbers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mouse embryos were randomly divided into five groups and incubated with ...

background: integrins are heterodimeric glycoprotein receptors that regulate the interaction of cells with extracellular matrix and may have a critical role in implantation. the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ovulation induction on the expression of α4, αv, β1, and β3 integrins in mouse blastocyst at the time of implantation. methods: the ovarian stimulated and non-stimulate...

background: indisputable population exposure to widespread electromagnetic fields, has grown concerns over the probable health effects of these fields. objective: the present study was aimed to examine the possible effects of 50 hz extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (elf-emf) exposure on the number and quality of mice blastocysts. materials and methods: in present study, 66 nmri preg...

T H E structure of the mammalian blastocyst has generally been studied on whole mounts in fluid, or on sections of embedded preparations. If the blastocyst of the rabbit is split open and mounted flat, however, the intact cells in their correct topographical relationships may be examined under the high powers of the microscope. This technique, which is quick and simple, may be employed in cytol...

Co-culture of human embryos (n = 384 cycles) to the blastocyst stage using Vero cell monolayers was carried out between August 1995 and December 1997. A total of 2868 zygotes were co-cultured and 1027 embryos reached the blastocyst stage (blastocyst formation rate 35.8%). The blastocysts were frozen in 43.7% of patients. A mean of 1.8 blastocysts was transferred per patient and 95 pregnancies w...

Delayed implantation (embryonic diapause) occurs when the embryo at the blastocyst stage achieves a state of suspended animation. During this period, blastocyst growth is very slow, with minimal or no cell division. Nearly 100 mammals in seven different orders undergo delayed implantation, but the underlying molecular mechanisms that direct this process remain largely unknown. In mice, ovariect...

background: the selection of blastocyst warmed for transfer is based on pre-freeze morphology in vitrified-warmed single blastocyst transfer cycles. but, it is controversial which parameter of blastocyst morphology most closely related to the clinical outcomes. objective: to estimate the effect of blastocoele expansion, trophectoderm (te) morphology grade, and inner cell mass (icm) morphology g...

Passage of bovine serum albumin (BSA) into unimplanted rabbit blastocysts was studied using intravenous or intrauterine injection of the mother and in vitro cultivation of 5-day blastocysts. BSA concentration in blastocyst fluid was measured using a quantitative radial immunodiffusion method and confirmed by double diffusion in agar. Intravenous injection of up to 200 mg/kg body weight produced...

Blastocyst formation, as a critical period during development, is an effective indicator of embryonic health and reproductive efficiency. Out of a number of mechanisms underlying blastocyst formation, highly conserved mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling has emerged as a major mechanism involved in regulating murine preimplantation embryo development. The objective of our study was...

Glutamine and taurine are reported to be beneficial for mouse embryo development in vitro, and we have recently shown that glutamine improves human blastocyst formation in vitro. This randomized study compared the development of supernumerary human embryos in the presence of 1 mmol/l glutamine and/or 5 mmol/l taurine from the 2-4-cell stage to the blastocyst stage. Blastocyst development and ce...