in order to do in vitro fertilization (ivf), 435 oocytes were collected from 20 super ovulated nmri female mice, in m2 media with 4% bsa. 85% (n=370) of collected oocytes were in mii phase. epididymal sperms were added to 332 oocytes in t6 media drops with 4% bsa and incubated. fertilization rate was 79.8% (n=265) out of which 27.5% (n=73) grew to morula and 20.8% (n=55) achieved blastocyst sta...

BACKGROUND Sperm chromatin is highly condensed and relatively resistant to chemical and physical treatments. The purpose of this study was to explore the highest temperature that sperm can tolerate and still produce live offspring. METHODS Mouse sperm were heated in a water bath at 50, 65, 80 or 95°C for 30 min before they were microinjected into mouse oocytes. Fertilization, embryo developme...

BACKGROUND ICSI is a relatively new treatment for human male-related infertility, as well as an efficient method for the production of transgenic animals by injecting into the oocyte sperm previously incubated with foreign DNA. As semen samples collected in human infertility clinics are frequently contaminated with bacteria, one risk associated with the ICSI procedure is the injection of foreig...

One important result of egg activation is the establishment of blocks to prevent polyspermic fertilization; these blocks are established on the zona pellucida and the egg plasma membrane. This study examines what the sperm brings to the egg to induce the establishment of the membrane block to polyspermy, building on past evidence that membrane block establishment does not occur in response to p...

Global demethylation of DNA which marks the onset of development occurs asynchronously in the mouse; paternal DNA is demethylated at the the zygote stage, whereas maternal DNA is demethylated later in development. The biological function of such asymmetry and its underlying mechanisms are currently unknown. To test the hypothesis that the early demethylation of male DNA may be associated with p...

Spermatozoa are polarized cells with a head and flagellum joined together by the connecting piece. Flagellum integrity is critical for normal sperm function, defects consistently lead to male infertility. Multiple morphological abnormalities of flagella (MMAF) distinct phenotype leading infertility due reduced or absent motility associated severe ultrastructural defects. Despite numerous genes ...

STUDY QUESTION Does the application of three different artificial activating stimuli lead to a difference in pre- and post-implantation embryo development in the wobbler mouse, a mouse model with oocyte activation deficient round-headed sperm cells similar to human globozoospermia? SUMMARY ANSWER No gross differences were found between strontium chloride, electrical pulses or ionomycin with r...

OBJECTIVE Laser-assisted intracytoplasmic sperm injection (LA-ICSI), also known as micro-opening or thinning of the zona pellucida (ZP) prior to ICSI, may help to reduce mechanical damage to the oocyte during the procedure. The aim of the present study was to evaluate and analyze the efficacy of our institutional LA-ICSI program, which features laser-assisted ZP thinning prior to ICSI, in compa...

Abstract At fertilization in mice and humans, the activation of egg is caused by a series repetitive Ca2+ oscillations which are initiated phospholipase-C(zeta)ζ that generates inositol-1,4,5-trisphophate (InsP3). can be triggered mature mouse eggs incubation Sr2+ containing medium, but this does not appear to effective human eggs. Here, we have investigated reason for apparent difference using...

OBJECTIVE To verify whether microinjection into retrieved oocytes of motile spermatozoa with morphologically normal nuclei, strictly defined by high power light microscopy (x >6000), improves the IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) pregnancy rate in couples with repeated ICSI failures. DESIGN Comparative prospective study testing routine IVF/ICSI outcome parameters against those of mo...