BACKGROUND The enzyme hyaluronidase from bovine origin is commonly used for oocyte-cumulus cell removal in ICSI. A recombinant human hyaluronidase (rHuPH20) has been introduced as a quality-controlled and safe alternative. METHODS In order to validate its effectiveness, a non-inferiority trial was started on sibling cumulus-oocyte complexes (135 ICSI patients). Oocyte denudation involved enzy...

background: the predictive roles of follicle stimulating hormone (fsh), anti-mullerian hormone (amh) and antral follicle count (afc) as ovarian reserve markers in women with different age groups are not established well. objective: this study compares the value of fsh, amh and afc at the time of     in vitro fertilization (ivf) treatment in different age groups. materials and methods: in this c...

Cell polarity and asymmetry play a fundamental role in embryo development. The unequal segregation of determinants, cues, and activities is the major event in the differentiation of cell fate and function in all multicellular organisms. In oocytes, polarity and asymmetry in the distribution of different molecules are prerequisites for the progression and proper outcome of embryonic development....

The molecular underpinnings of the oocyte-to-embryo transition are poorly understood. Here we show that two protein tyrosine phosphatase-like (PTPL) family proteins, EGG-4 and EGG-5, are required for key events of the oocyte-to-embryo transition in Caenorhabditis elegans. The predicted EGG-4 and EGG-5 amino acid sequences are 99% identical and their functions are redundant. In embryos lacking E...

Genital tract abnormalities and adverse pregnancy outcome are well known in women exposed in utero to diethylstilboestrol (DES). Data about adverse reproductive performance in women exposed to DES have been published, including controversial reports of menstrual dysfunction, poor responses after ovarian stimulation, oocyte maturation and fertilization abnormalities. We compared oocyte quality, ...

Mammalian oocyte meiotic maturation is the precondition of early embryo development. Lots of microtubules (MT)-associated proteins participate in oocyte maturation process. Cytoskeleton-associated protein 5 (CKAP5) is a member of the XMAP215 family that regulates microtubule dynamics during mitosis. However, its role in meiosis has not been fully studied. Here, we investigated the function of C...

Mammalian oocyte asymmetric division relies on the eccentric positioning of the spindle, resulting in the polar body formation. Small signaling G protein Rac1 is a member of GTPases, which regulates a diverse array of cellular events, including the control of cell growth, cytoskeletal reorganization, and the activation of protein kinases. However, effects of Rac1 on the porcine oocyte maturatio...

Prediction and improvement of oocyte competence are two critical issues in assisted reproductive technology to improve infertility therapy. The lack of reliable and objective predictors of oocyte developmental competence for oocyte/embryo selection during in vitro fertilization hampers the effectiveness of this technology. Likewise, the low pregnancy rate resulting from in vitro maturation of h...

BACKGROUND The adverse effects of maternal diabetes on oocyte maturation and embryo development have been reported. METHODS In this study, we used time-lapse live cell imaging confocal microscopy to investigate the dynamic changes of ER and the effects of diabetes on the ER's structural dynamics during oocyte maturation, fertilization and early embryo development. RESULTS We report that the...

In this study, we aimed at delineating the possible effect of estradiol (E2) levels on day β-hCG administration ovary by analysingthe Embryo Score (ES) early 2, 44hrs post insemination. Oocyte donor ovarian stimulation protocols were thus used in order to avoid any counteractions E2 with endometrium. All oocytes microinjected and all embryo transfers fresh.E2 E2/oocyte correlated positively ES ...