• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2007

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of slow freezing with vitrification method for cryopreservation of mouse pronuclear stage embryos. Methods: Mouse pronuclear embryos obtained from superovulated mice and classified into 2 groups of slow freezing and vitrification. Slow freezing solution consisted of 1.5 M PROH, 0.1 M sucrose, while vitrification solution consisted of 40% ethylene glycol, 18% Ficoll and 0.5 M sucrose diluted in Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline supplemented with 10% SSS. Recovery and survival rates after thawing and development rates to hatching balstocyst stage were compared between two groups. Results: After freezing and thawing, recovery rate of slow freezing group was 93.8%, whereas vitrification group was 66.5% (p<0.01). Survival rate of recovered embryos were similar between two groups as 83.2% in slow freezing and 87.6% in vitrification. Embryo development rates to 2-cell stage after 24 hrs (77.0% vs 59.1%), 4-cell after 48 hrs (72.6% vs 53.3%), blastocyst after 96 hrs (53.1% vs 40.1%) of thawing were significantly higher in vitrification group than those of slow freezing group, respectively. Conclusion: The vitrification method may provide better developmental competence of frozen-thawed embryos than that of slow freezing method for cryopreservation of mouse pronuclear stage embryos.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.197-203
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• 1998

DNA methylation seems to play an important regulatory role in gene expression and cell differentiation during postimplantation embryonic development. However, the significance of DNA methylation which is maintained by the DNA MTase during preimplantation embryonic development, is not fully understood. In order to study the role of DNA methylation in the preimplantation embryos, the expression of DNA MTase transcripts was monitored in the oocytes and preimplantation embryos. The mRNA of DNA MTase was detected in the oocytes and pleimplantation embryos. The relative mRNA levels of DNA MTase were high from the stages of GV-oocytes and pronuclear embryos, and thereafter decreased gradually. By the treatment of $\alpha$-amanitin, it was confirmed that the transcripts presented in pronuclear embryos was derived from the maternal genome. The presence of transcripts of DNA MTase in the oocytes and pronuclear embryos suggests that the maintenance of DNA methylation may be necessary and seems to play an important role in gene expression and cell differentiation during preimplantation embryonic develop-ment in mouse.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.39-40
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• 1996

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 1999

To investigate the origin and action mechanism of cytoplasmic factors as regulators of morphogenesis, the embryonic development, RNA synthesis and protein phosphorylation were examined in reconstituted embryos. A half of 1-cell mouse embryo with both pronuclei was electrofused with the enucleated cytoplasm of 1- or 2-cell embryos which were cultured for 24 hrs from post 20 hrs hCG in CZB with or without cycloheximide (CHX, an inhibitor of protein synthesis; P+P-CHX group), genistein (Gen, an inhibitor of tyrosine protein kinase; P+2-Gen group) and 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP, an inhibitor of serine-threonine protein kinase; P＋2-DMAP group), and co-cultured with Vero cells for 5 days. And their development, cell numbers at compaction, [5, 6-$^3$H]-uridine incorporation into RNA and the pattern of protein phosphorylation after labeling of [$^{32}$ P] orthophosphate were compared with that of the reconstituted embryos such as P+2 or P+P (control group). Embryonic development and the time of RNA synthesis in P+P-CHX were similar to those in P+P. But the time and the cell stages of embryonic compaction in P+P-CHX were similar to those in P+2. The compaction was initiated at 4-cell in P+2 and P+2-Gen, but at 8-cell in P+P and P+2-DMAP. On a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, phosphorylation of 80KD and 110KD proteins were inhibited after 3 hrs of reconstruction in the embryo of P+2-DMAP when compared with that of P+2 and P+2-Gen. These results suggest that protein synthesis between 1- and 2-cell stage affects the timing of embryonic genome activation, and that cytoplasmic factors derived from oocyte or their modification regulates the time schedule of embryonic compaction in mouse. Also, serine-threonine protein kinase has an important role on the regulation of compaction.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 1993

The effects of freezing and 1,2-propanediol on early and late pronucleate stage mouse ova were investigated in terms of survival after thawing and development in vitro. The samples were divided into two groups according to different age in pronucleate ova: ova in(1) early pronuclear stage with two distant pronuclei at 18h after hCG injection, and (2) late pronuclear stage with adjacent pronuclei at 30h. Zygotes in the late pronuclear stage have been proven to be more resistant to 1,2-propanediol, showing a significantly higher developmental rate than zygotes in early stage (80.3 versus 66.3%, <0.05), but survival rate was similar in the two groups (91.0 versus 93.5%). After freezing and thawing, survival and developmental rates were decreased in both groups when compared to the control group (54.3 versus 92.3%, 47.7 versus 73.3%. respectively). And developmental rate in the late pronuclear stage zygotes showed significantly higher than in early (55.4 versus 40.0%) after thawing. In conclusion, early pronucleate mouse ova have a lower developmental capacity in vitro and a lower survival rate after freezing and thawing than late ova. These findings suggest that the timing of freezing could be important for survival and further development in vitro in cryopreservation of human pronucleate ova.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 1998

This study was designed to evaluate the influence of pronuclear age on the survival and post-thawing development after cryopreservation of mouse embryos. Freezing and thawing were performed in the different pronuclear stages of mouse embryos after IVF. Embryos were obtained from $F_1$ hybrid mice and classified into 4 groups according to the pronuclear stage (6hr, 9hr, 12hr and 15hr after insemination). Pronuclear ova were slowly cooled in a biological freezer using 1.5M 1,2-propanediol and 0.1M sucrose as cryoprotectant. Thawing was done at room temperature and 1,2-propanediol was removed by multi-step dilutions. Both frozen-thawed embryos and control fresh embryos were cultured in vitro in Ham's F-10 medium supplemented with 4mg/ml BSA. In control group, the development rate after 48hr was 99.3%, and the complete hatching rate after 144hr was 61.3%. In experimental groups, the survival rate after thawing was 95.4% in 6hr, 88.7% in 9hr, 75.2% in 12hr and 62.4% in 15hr after insemination, the development rate after 48hr was 61.1, 77.0, 67.0 and 79.6%, respectively, and the complete hatching rate after 144hr was 25.7, 43.7, 42.2 and 60.0%, respectively. The survival rate in 15hr was significantly lower (p<0.05) compared with other groups. In vitro development rates after 48hr were similar in all groups, but complement hatching rate was significantly lower (p<0.05) in 6hr group. In conclusion, cryopreservation of mouse pronuclear ova with 2 distinct pronuclei (9hr and 12hr groups) showed better results after thawing compared with early (6hr group) or late pronuclear ova just prior to cleavage (15hr group).