Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation
Objective: To investigate whether artificial removal of zona pellucida (ZP) at the pronuclear stage improves good-quality embryos and blastocyst development in patients with difficulty conceiving because of severe fragmentation in early-cleavage stage. Design: Exploratory investigation. Setting: Rep...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | F&S Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666334124000928 |
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| author | Keitaro Yumoto, B.Sc. Toko Shimura, B.Sc. Minori Kawamoto, M.Sc. Minako Sugishima, B.Sc. Yasuyuki Mio, M.D., Ph.D. |
| author_facet | Keitaro Yumoto, B.Sc. Toko Shimura, B.Sc. Minori Kawamoto, M.Sc. Minako Sugishima, B.Sc. Yasuyuki Mio, M.D., Ph.D. |
| author_sort | Keitaro Yumoto, B.Sc. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: To investigate whether artificial removal of zona pellucida (ZP) at the pronuclear stage improves good-quality embryos and blastocyst development in patients with difficulty conceiving because of severe fragmentation in early-cleavage stage. Design: Exploratory investigation. Setting: Reproductive center. Patient(s): Thirty-four patients scheduled for assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment in our clinic between February 2020 and January 2021 were selected to undergo ZP removal according to their ART-related medical history. In total, 173 two pronuclei zygotes were obtained, with 101 allocated to the ZP-free group and 72 to the ZP-intact group. All patients had zygotes allocated in both ZP-free and ZP-intact groups. Intervention(s): Oocytes that were confirmed to be normally fertilized were placed in sucrose-containing HEPES medium for approximately 5 minutes and cultured under one of the following two conditions: ZP-free, in which the ZP was completely removed from the ooplasm by laser irradiation and a medium-blowing method with a biopsy pipette; and ZP-intact. Subsequently, embryos were either freshly transferred on day 2 (ZP-intact group only, according to patients’ wishes), or day 5/6, or they were cryopreserved on day 5/6/7 for future embryo transfer cycles for both groups. Main Outcome Measure(s): Rates of good-quality embryos, blastocyst development, morphologically good-quality blastocyst development, and cryopreservation. Result(s): In ZP-free embryos, the inter-blastomere adhesion was not disturbed and the fragmentation was significantly decreased that resulted into significant improvement in all measured parameters compared with the ZP-intact group. Conclusion(s): Artificial ZP removal at the pronuclear stage may prevent excessive fragmentation leading to good-quality blastocysts. Moreover, patients with recurrent ART failure may achieve successful pregnancies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e2c1b3484aac4db48ee8dcbddf60f2fb |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-3341 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | F&S Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-e2c1b3484aac4db48ee8dcbddf60f2fb2025-08-20T01:56:39ZengElsevierF&S Reports2666-33412024-12-015438539310.1016/j.xfre.2024.08.011Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentationKeitaro Yumoto, B.Sc.0Toko Shimura, B.Sc.1Minori Kawamoto, M.Sc.2Minako Sugishima, B.Sc.3Yasuyuki Mio, M.D., Ph.D.4Reproductive Center, Medical Corporation Group Mio Fertility Clinic, Kuzumo-Minami, Yonago, JapanReproductive Center, Medical Corporation Group Mio Fertility Clinic, Kuzumo-Minami, Yonago, JapanReproductive Center, Medical Corporation Group Mio Fertility Clinic, Kuzumo-Minami, Yonago, JapanReproductive Center, Medical Corporation Group Mio Fertility Clinic, Kuzumo-Minami, Yonago, JapanReproductive Center, Medical Corporation Group Mio Fertility Clinic, Kuzumo-Minami, Yonago, Japan; Correspondence: Yasuyuki Mio, M.D., Ph.D., Reproductive Center, Medical Corporation Group Mio Fertility Clinic, 2-1-1, Kuzumo-Minami, Yonago 683-0008, Japan.Objective: To investigate whether artificial removal of zona pellucida (ZP) at the pronuclear stage improves good-quality embryos and blastocyst development in patients with difficulty conceiving because of severe fragmentation in early-cleavage stage. Design: Exploratory investigation. Setting: Reproductive center. Patient(s): Thirty-four patients scheduled for assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment in our clinic between February 2020 and January 2021 were selected to undergo ZP removal according to their ART-related medical history. In total, 173 two pronuclei zygotes were obtained, with 101 allocated to the ZP-free group and 72 to the ZP-intact group. All patients had zygotes allocated in both ZP-free and ZP-intact groups. Intervention(s): Oocytes that were confirmed to be normally fertilized were placed in sucrose-containing HEPES medium for approximately 5 minutes and cultured under one of the following two conditions: ZP-free, in which the ZP was completely removed from the ooplasm by laser irradiation and a medium-blowing method with a biopsy pipette; and ZP-intact. Subsequently, embryos were either freshly transferred on day 2 (ZP-intact group only, according to patients’ wishes), or day 5/6, or they were cryopreserved on day 5/6/7 for future embryo transfer cycles for both groups. Main Outcome Measure(s): Rates of good-quality embryos, blastocyst development, morphologically good-quality blastocyst development, and cryopreservation. Result(s): In ZP-free embryos, the inter-blastomere adhesion was not disturbed and the fragmentation was significantly decreased that resulted into significant improvement in all measured parameters compared with the ZP-intact group. Conclusion(s): Artificial ZP removal at the pronuclear stage may prevent excessive fragmentation leading to good-quality blastocysts. Moreover, patients with recurrent ART failure may achieve successful pregnancies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666334124000928Zona pellucidacytoplasmic fragmentationblastocyst developmenthuman embryoZP-free culture |
| spellingShingle | Keitaro Yumoto, B.Sc. Toko Shimura, B.Sc. Minori Kawamoto, M.Sc. Minako Sugishima, B.Sc. Yasuyuki Mio, M.D., Ph.D. Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation F&S Reports Zona pellucida cytoplasmic fragmentation blastocyst development human embryo ZP-free culture |
| title | Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation |
| title_full | Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation |
| title_fullStr | Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation |
| title_short | Artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage: an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation |
| title_sort | artificial removal of the zona pellucida at the pronuclear stage an exploratory study to improve embryo fragmentation |
| topic | Zona pellucida cytoplasmic fragmentation blastocyst development human embryo ZP-free culture |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666334124000928 |
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