Human Reproduction, Vol 12, 532-541, Copyright © 1997 by Oxford University Press
D Payne, SP Flaherty, MF Barry and CD Matthews
In this study, we have used time-lapse video cinematography to study
fertilization in 50 human oocytes that had undergone intracytoplasmic sperm
injection (ICSI). Time-lapse recording commenced shortly after ICSI and
proceeded for 17-20 h. Oocytes were cultured in an environmental chamber
which was maintained under standard culture conditions. Overall, 38 oocytes
(76%) were fertilized normally, and the fertilization rate and embryo
quality were not significantly different from 487 sibling oocytes cultured
in a conventional incubator. Normal fertilization followed a defined course
of events, although the timing of these events varied markedly between
oocytes. In 35 of the 38 fertilized oocytes (92%), there were circular
waves of granulation within the ooplasm which had a periodicity of 20-53
min. The sperm head decondensed during this granulation phase. The second
polar body was then extruded, and this was followed by the central
formation of the male pronucleus. The female pronucleus formed in the
cytoplasm adjacent to the second polar body at the same time as, or
slightly after, the male pronucleus, and was subsequently drawn towards the
male pronucleus until the two abutted. Both pronuclei then increased in
size, the nucleoli moved around within the pronuclei and some nucleoli
coalesced. During pronuclear growth, the organelles contracted from the
cortex towards the centre of the oocyte, leaving a clear cortical zone. The
oocyte decreased in diameter from 112 to 106 microm (P < 0.0001) during
the course of the observation period. The female pronucleus was
significantly smaller in diameter than the male pronucleus (24.1 and 22.4
microm respectively, P = 0.008) and contained fewer nucleoli (4.2 and 7.0
respectively, P < 0.0001). After time-lapse recording, oocytes were
cultured for 48 h prior to embryo transfer or cryopreservation. Embryo
quality was related to fertilization events and periodicity of the
cytoplasmic wave, and it was found that good quality embryos arose from
oocytes that had more uniform timing from injection to pronuclear abuttal
and tended to have a longer cytoplasmic wave. In conclusion, we have shown
that time-lapse video cinematography is an excellent tool for studying
fertilization and early embryo development, and have demonstrated that
human fertilization comprises numerous complex dynamic events.
ARTICLES
Preliminary observations on polar body extrusion and pronuclear formation in human oocytes using time-lapse video cinematography
Reproductive Medicine Unit, The University of Adelaide, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, South Australia.
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