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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on March 9, 2009
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/dep005
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
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An in vivo culture system for human embryos using an encapsulation technology: a pilot study

C. Blockeel1,{dagger}, P. Mock2,9,{dagger}, G. Verheyen1,{dagger}, N. Bouche2,3, Ph. Le Goff2, Y. Heyman4, C. Wrenzycki5, K. Höffmann5, H. Niemann6, P. Haentjens7, M.J. de Los Santos8, M. Fernandez-Sanchez8, M. Velasco2, P. Aebischer3, P. Devroey1 and C. Simón8,10

1 Centre for Reproductive Medicine, UZ Brussel, Brussels, Belgium 2 Anecova Inc., Lausanne, Switzerland 3 Brain and Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland 4 Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, INRA, Jouy en Josas, France 5 Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule, Klinik für Rinder, Reproduktionsmedizinische Einheit der Kliniken, Hannover, Germany 6 Institut für Nutztiergenetik, FLI, Mariensee, Neustadt, Germany 7 Centre for Outcomes Research and Laboratory for Experimental Surgery, UZ Brussel, Brussels, Belgium 8 Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad (IVI), Valencia, Spain 9 University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

10 Corresponding address. Fundación del Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad (FIVI), University of Valencia, C/Guadassuar, 1, 46015 Valencia, Spain. Tel: +34-96-345-55-60; Fax: +34-96-345-55-12; E-mail: csimon{at}ivi.es

Background: Animal studies have demonstrated better embryo development in vivo than in vitro. This pilot study tested the feasibility of using a novel in utero culture system (IUCS) to obtain normal human fertilization and embryo development.

Methods: The IUCS device comprised a perforated silicone hollow tube. The study included 13 patients (<36 years) undergoing a first intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment and 167 metaphase II oocytes in three groups. In Group 1, 1–2 h after ICSI, sibling oocytes were assigned to IUCS or conventional in vitro culture. The device was retrieved on Day 1, and all zygotes were cultured in vitro till Day 5. In Group 2, fertilized oocytes were assigned on Day 1, embryos retrieved on Day 3 and all embryos cultured till Day 5. In Group 3, after Day 0 assignment, embryos were retrieved on Day 3 for blastomere biopsy and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and cultured until Day 5. The highest quality blastocysts were transferred on Day 5.

Results: Fertilization and embryo development were comparable in the in vitro and IUCS arms, with a tendency towards better embryo quality in the IUCS. FISH analysis in Group 3 revealed more normal embryos using the IUCS (P = 0.049). Three clinical pregnancies and live births were obtained: two from the IUCS arm and one from the in vitro arm.

Conclusions: Our pilot study shows that this new IUCS appears to be feasible and safe, supporting normal fertilization, embryo development and normal chromosomal segregation. Furthermore, live births are possible after the transient presence of a silicone device in the uterus.Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00480103 [ClinicalTrials.gov] .

Key words: in vivo culture/in utero culture system/ICSI/embryos/oocytes

{dagger} The first three authors have contributed equally.

Submitted on June 2, 2008; resubmitted on December 16, 2008; accepted on December 28, 2008.


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