To investigate the effect of placental isoferritin (PLF) on mouse embryo development in vitro, mice 2-cell embryos were co-cultured with human first trimester decidual cells at different concentrations of PLF in vitro. The following changes of the above system were observed under an invert microscope and the number of embryos were recorded and the embryos were classified. The results showed there was no significant difference in the percentage of embryos development to 4-cell, 8-cell and morula (P>0.05). PLF at the doses of 10 and 100 U/mL significantly enhanced more embryos development to the blastocyst and hatching blastocyst (P<0.05). PLF at the dose of 1000 U/mL depressed more embryos development from 2-cell to hatching blastocyst, meanwhile such phenomena as cell degeneration and irregular cleavage were observed in part of embryos, but there was no significant difference in statistics (P>0.05). It was concluded that PLF at the concentration of 10-100 U/mL had no significant effects on the early development of mice embryos, however, PLF could promote the growth, differentiation, and hatching of preimplantation blastocysts.
Coculture Techniques ; Decidua/*cytology ; Embryo, Mammalian/*cytology ; Embryo, Mammalian/drug effects ; Embryo, Mammalian/embryology ; Embryonic Development/*drug effects ; Ferritins/isolation & purification ; Ferritins/*pharmacology ; Placenta/*chemistry ; Tissue Culture Techniques

Vitrification of human oocytes and embryos has become an important assisted reproductive technology. It can be used to cryopreserve immature oocytes, mature oocytes, pronuclear embryos, blastomeres, and blastocysts. This article reviewed the clinical application of vitrification of human oocytes and embryos at different developmental stages.
Cryopreservation ; methods ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Humans ; Oocytes ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted

In comparison with their in vivo counterparts, the in vitro produced mammalian embryos had markedly lower rates of morula/blastocyst development and pregnancy after transfer to the recipients. Things became even worse in the cloned embryos. This necessitates improvement of the embryo culture system. Co-culture of embryos with different types of somatic cells was found beneficial for embryo development in vitro and many studies have been conducted in this area in recent years. In this paper, recent developments and the authors' own work in studies of co-culture of early mammalian embryos with somatic cells were reviewed, with emphasis on the effects of cell type, stage of estrous cycle and number of passages of somatic cells and supplement of serum on embryo development, and the mechanisms by which co-culture promote embryo development. The recent developments are summarized as follows: 1. Somatic cells of both homogeneous and heterogeneous origins can be used for co-culture of mammalian embryos, with similar developmental rates. 2. Supplementation of animal serum at appropriate concentrations improved the somatic cell growth and consequently the development of embryos in co-culture. 3. The estrous cycle stages of oviduct epithelial cells used for co-culture had no effect on the development of embryos. 4. Over-passaging of somatic cells reduced their efficiency in promoting development of the co-cultured embryos. In conclusion, studies have shown that co-culture overcame the block of embryo development in vitro and improved embryo quality with increased rates of implantation and pregnancy, but many problems remain to be solved on its influencing factors and mechanisms of action.
Animals ; Coculture Techniques ; methods ; Embryo Culture Techniques ; methods ; Embryo, Mammalian ; physiology ; Humans

The purpose was to optimize the vitrification for porcine embryos cryopreservation. Blastocyst/Morula (5-6th day-embryos) were collected from superovulated Bama mini-pigs (sows/gilts). We compared different cryopreservation methods, cryopreservation tools, thining of zona pellucida (ZP) and recipient breeds on the efficiency of porcine embryo cryopreservation. The results showed that: in embryo survival rate and blastocyst cell number, there were no significant differences between cryopreservation method I [embryos were vitrified by two step method with open pulled straw (OPS) and glass micropipette (GMP) in solution 1 (TCM199 + 20% FBS + 10% EG + 10% DMSO) for 3 min, and solution 2 (TCM199 + 20% FBS + 20% EG + 20% DMSO + 0.4 mol/L SUC) for 1 min, stored in liquid nitrogen] and method II[Blastocysts were cultured for 25 min in NCSU23 + 7.5 microg/mL cytochalasin B, centrifuged at approximately 13 000 xg for 12-13 min, and recovered back into pNCSU23. They were then equilibrated for 5 min in 2 mol/L ethylene glycol in pNCSU23, washed quickly in the vitrification medium, 8 mol/L ethylene glycol, 7% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in pNCSU23, loaded into OPS/GMP, and plunged into liquid nitrogen]. GMP vitrification method was more suitable and efficient than OPS method (P < 0.05) in embryo survival rate (83.8% vs 77.6%) and blastocyst cell number (53.1 vs 47.5) after thawing. Thining of ZP did not increase the survival rate, but significantly improved blastocyst cell number in the survival blastcysts (60.1 and 46, P < 0.01). Local pig breeds (Fengjing sows) were more suitable as recipients for embryo transfer of vitrified/warmed blastcysts, which can improve pregnant rate and embryo efficiency.
Animals ; Blastomeres ; cytology ; Cryopreservation ; methods ; veterinary ; Embryo Transfer ; veterinary ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature ; Vitrification ; Zona Pellucida ; physiology

With the advancements of stem cells and regenerative medicine, interspecies chimera has become a hot topic and will pave a new way of providing donor sources in organ transplantation. However, the interspecies chimera is confronted with a number of scientific questions and technical obstacles, including selections of appropriate embryonic stage and appropriate culture medium; those factors will deeply influence the developmental balance between donor cells and receptor embryos. Due to its relatively rapid reproductive cycle and similar organ size to human's, porcine is a very potential donor candidate to study these questions. To compare the development and chimeric efficiency of interspecies embryos, we tested and evaluated three different culture systems, PZM-3 (Porcine zygotic medium), culture medium for iPSCs (N2B27) and 3.5 h of N2B27 before PZM-3 (N2B27(3.5 h)), and two different embryonic stages, 8-cell and blastocyst in mouse-porcine chimeric embryos using parthenogenetically activated porcine embryos and mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (miPS). The results showed that, PZM-3 was beneficial for both development of chimeric embryos and miPSCs proliferation in porcine embryos in the 8-cell injection group. After early blastocyst injection, the chimeric efficiency did not appear significantly different among the three culture systems but was lower than 8-cell injection. In summary, the results suggest that 8-cell injection and PZM-3 culture medium are more beneficial to the in vitro development and chimeric efficiency of mouse-porcine chimeric embryos.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Chimera ; Culture Media ; Embryo Culture Techniques ; veterinary ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Embryonic Development ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; Mice ; Swine

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the embryotoxicity of alkaloids in Senecionis Scandentis Hebra on in vitro cultured mouse embryos. Mouse whole embryo culture (WEC) was applied in this study. Post-implantation (8.5 d) mouse embryos were isolated from their mothers, and cultured in medium of immediately centrifuged serum (ICS) with different concentrations of seneciphylline (target concentrations were 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 μg x mL(-1)) or senkirkine (target concentrations were 50, 25 and 12.5 μg x mL(-1)) for 48 h. After culturing completed, the development and organic morphodifferentiation of the cultured embryos were evaluated microscopically. Treatment with seneciphylline and senkirkine had adverse effects on the development and organic morphodifferentiation of embryos. The effect also had clear dose-response. Alkaloidals in Senecionis Scandentis Hebra had embryotoxicity on cultured embryos, which indicated that pregnant people exposed to Senecionis Scandentis Hebra may get potential risk on fetus.
Animals ; Embryo Culture Techniques ; Embryo, Mammalian ; drug effects ; Female ; Mice ; Pregnancy ; Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids ; toxicity ; Senecio ; chemistry ; Teratogens ; toxicity

Aging ; genetics ; Embryo Research ; ethics ; Embryo, Mammalian ; metabolism ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Morals ; Preimplantation Diagnosis ; RNA Editing ; genetics ; Zygote ; metabolism

Human embryonic stem cells can be induced to differentiate into all kinds of cells in vitro to be applied to clinical medicine and scientific research. Because they have to be isolated from human embryos, any attempt to establish human stem cell line is prohibited by religion and ethics in some areas and countries. Parthogenetic embryonic stem cells have similar capacity of totipotency and proliferation, and can be established from parthenogenetic activation of discarded oocytes. This paper reviews the progress in the studies of the establishment of parthenogenetic embryonic stem cell line and its differentiation capacities.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Embryo, Mammalian ; cytology ; Humans ; Parthenogenesis ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the accuracy of a scoring system combining zygote and embryo morphology in predicting the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

METHODSIn a study group, 117 consecutive IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles with embryo transfer were carried out and 312 embryos were scored using a combined scoring system (CSS) of zygote and embryo morphology before transplantation. In a control group, a total of 420 IVF or ICSI cycles were carried out and 1176 embryos were scored using a cumulative embryo score (CES). The effects of the combined scoring system on the embryo implantation rate and pregnancy rate per cycle were analyzed.

RESULTSUsing the combined scoring system, the embryo implantation rate (27.6%) and the clinical pregnancy rate (48.7%) were significantly higher than those in the control group (20.8% and 38.6%, respectively). Also, the implantation rate of embryos scoring>or=70 (38.5%: 82 sacs/213 embryos) was significantly higher (P<0.001) than that of embryos scoring<70 (4%: 4 sacs/99 embryos). The pregnancy rate of patients with embryos scoring>or=70 using the combined scoring system (66.7%) was significantly higher (P<0.001) than that of patients with embryos scoring>or=20 using the cumulative embryo score (59.0%).

CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that selecting embryos with a high score (>or=70) using the combined scoring system could increase the implantation rate and pregnancy rate, and that using a scoring system combining assessments of human zygotes and pre-implantation embryos might predict IVF outcomes more accurately than using a cumulative embryo score.

Embryo, Mammalian ; cytology ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; methods ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Treatment Outcome ; Zygote ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo study the expression of the estrogen receptor (ER) and type II collagen in the mandibular condylar cartilage of the human embryo.

METHODSThe expression and localization of ERalpha, ERbeta, and type II collagen in the mandibular condylar cartilage of the human embryo were examined through hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and immunohistochemistry staining.

RESULTSType II collagen was primarily localized in the transitional and hypertrophic layers of the condylar cartilage. ERa was mostly expressed in the transitional and hypertrophic cartilaginous layers of the condylar cartilage. ERa was evenly distributed in the cell, whereas ERbeta was localized in the nuclei. No expression of type II collagen and ER was found in the fibrage and the proliferative layer although minimal expression was found in the calcified cartilage.

CONCLUSIONThe distribution of ER and type II collagen in the mandibular condylar cartilage was consistent. Estrogen can selectively combine with different subtypes of ER that regulate the ability of the condylar cartilage cells to secrete type II collagens.

Cartilage ; Collagen ; Collagen Type II ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Estrogen Receptor alpha ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mandibular Condyle ; Receptors, Estrogen