Human Reproduction, Vol. 14, No. 9, 2350-2356,
September 1999
© 1999 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Effects of taurine on human embryo development in vitro
1 Scientific Collaborator at the Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research, 2 Clinic of Fertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hospital Erasme, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium and , 3 Department of Reproductive Science and Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 ONN, UK
Glutamine and taurine are reported to be beneficial for mouse embryo development in vitro, and we have recently shown that glutamine improves human blastocyst formation in vitro. This randomized study compared the development of supernumerary human embryos in the presence of 1 mmol/l glutamine and/or 5 mmol/l taurine from the 24-cell stage to the blastocyst stage. Blastocyst development and cell numbers were similar in the presence of glutamine or taurine: 52.6% and 58.3% of the embryos reached the blastocyst stage, respectively. Pyruvate uptake was similar in the presence of glutamine or taurine throughout development, as was lactate production after the 8-cell stage. Before this stage, lactate production was 4-fold higher in the presence of taurine (P < 0.001). The proportion of embryos reaching the blastocyst stage was similar with glutamine alone or with glutamine and taurine (62.5% and 47.2% respectively), as were the blastocyst cell numbers (63.0 ± 4.6 and 61.0 ± 5.1 respectively). In conclusion, taurine supports development of 24-cell human embryos to the blastocyst stage, although it does not further augment the beneficial effects of glutamine.
Key words: embryo metabolism/glutamine/human blastocyst/taurine
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