BACKGROUND Genetic defects in the oocyte can lead to female infertility due to failures in early embryogenesis. NLRP5 (NLR family, Pyrin domain containing 5) is a maternal effect factor required for early embryo development beyond the 2-cell stage in mice. The NLRP5 gene is conserved in mammals. Applying RNA interference (RNAi) technique in the macaque oocyte, we studied the in vitro effect of ...

We have constructed amplified cDNA preparations from replicate samples of human oocytes and individual preimplantation embryos. Differential display of the cDNA preparations shows disparate patterns of gene expression in the individual embryos at all stages of preimplantation development. The variation in patterns of genes expressed is in part due to the low starting cell number undergoing the ...

The number of cells in a preimplantation embryo is directly correlated to the health and viability of the embryo. There are currently no methods to count the number of cells in late-stage preimplantation embryos noninvasively. We assessed the ability of optical quadrature microscopy (OQM) to count the number of cells in mouse preimplantation embryos noninvasively. First, to test for possible li...

Approximately 390 literature references (through spring 1986) were reviewed for mammalian whole embryo culture procedures, with particular attention to the development of those cultures as systems for teratogenicity testing. The existing procedures could be conveniently divided into three groups, which are defined by the periods of embryogenesis that they embrace: preimplantation, peri-implanta...

Embryo cryopreservation has become a standard procedure in the practice of assisted reproduction. While routinely performed in IVF labs, the effects of embryo vitrification on the molecular mechanisms governing preimplantation development remain largely unknown. The endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) response is an evolutionary conserved mechanism that cells employ to manage ER stress. ER...

Although adverse effects of cannabinoids on pregnancy have been indicated for many years, the mechanisms by which they exert their actions were not clearly understood. Only recently, molecular and biochemical approaches have led to the identification of two types of cannabinoid receptors, brain-type receptors (CB1-R) and spleen-type receptors (CB2-R), which mediate cannabinoid effects. These fi...

Objective Vitrification has been shown as one of the most effective methods of cryopreservation for mammalian embryos. However, there is no consensus which stage of embryonic development is the most appropriate for vitrification with subsequent maximal development after thawing. This study was carried out to explore and compare the effect(s) of vitrification on mouse 2-cell, 4-cell, 8-cell, mor...

The sensitive mRNA phenotyping technique of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to demonstrate that insulin receptor mRNA is present in rat embryos during the preimplantation period. In addition, mRNA encoding insulin-like growth factor (IGF) type I and type II receptors have also been detected in rat preimplantation embryos. IGF-I mRNA was not detected in preimplantation e...