• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.183-189
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• 1995

In human IVF-ET, the development and morphology of the embryo have been known to affect implantation and pregnancy rates(PRs). Recently, pregnancy has been reported to related to the embryos with thick zona-pellucida, high levels of fragmentation, poor blastomere development and zona hardening. Although the mechanism of implantation is unclear, it is thought that the hatching process precedes implantation and that the hatching is related to implantation and PRs. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of assisted hatching(AHA) on the improvement of PRs in human IVF-ET. The results were as follows; 1. The PRs of the AHA group (40.8%) was significantly higher than that of control group(27.2%)(P<0.01). 2. According to the age of patients, the PRs of control and AHA groups were 33.9%(20/59), 44,4%(12/27) in <30 yrs, 26.1%(30/115), 38.3%(18/47) in 31-35 yrs, 22.4%(13/58), 41.4%(12/29) in >36 yrs, respectively. 3. According to the factors of infertility in AHA group, unexplained(immunologic factor) (40.0%) and male factors(41.9%) were higher than female(tubal obstruction, endometriosis, adhesion) factor (28.9%). As a result, it is suggested that AHA technique improve the PRs in poor prognosis patients. It is concluded that AHA method can be used to improve the PRs in human lVF-ET.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 제어로봇시스템학회 2003년도 ICCAS
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• pp.2435-2440
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• 2003

Manipulation of the nano/micro scale object has been a key technology in biology as the sizes of DNA, chromosome, nucleus, cell and embryo are within such order. For instance, for embryo cell manipulation, the cell injection is performed manually. The operator often spends over a year to carry out a cell manipulation project. Since the typical success rate of such operation is extremely low, automation of such biological cell manipulation has been asked. As the operator spends most of his time in finding the position of cell in the Petri dish and in injecting bio-material to the cell from the best orientation. In this paper, we propose a new strategy and a vision system, by which one can find, recognize and track nucleus, polar body, and zona pellucida of the embryo cell for automatic biomanipulation. The deformable template matching algorithm has been used in recognizing the nucleus and polar body of each cell. Result suggests that it outperforms the conventional methods.

• 한국가축번식학회지
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.341-346
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• 1993

The development of isolated blastomeres from mammalian preimplantation embryos has been basically studied for the multiplication of embryos from superior animals. Therefore, this study was investigated the effect of co-culture with mouse fetal fibroblast cells(MFFC) on in vitro development of blastomeres from mouse preimplantation embryos. Mature female ICR mice were treated with hormone to induce superovulation and embryos were collected at each 2, 4, and 8-cell stage. Then, after removing zona pellucida with protease, blastomeres were isolated by micropipetting, or reconstituted with different stage blastomere, and incubated for 72 hrs either in T6 or TCM199 or on the monolayer of MFFC, which was prepared with fibroblast cells from 14∼14 day mouse fetus. After incubation, we examined their development rates every day and the nuclei numbers of each blastocyst by Hoechst-33342 staining. In the development rates of blastomeres, there were no significant differences between media but the higher rateswere found in the monolayer of MFFC, regardless of reconsititution. In addition, blastomeres cultured with MFFC had slightly greater number of nuclei than those cultured in single media. Generally, the higher development rates of blastomeres were found from earlier stage embryos than the later ones, regardless of culture conditions. Reconsitituted blastomeres had more nuclei but did not show the higher development rates, compared to the single blastomeres. Taken together, our results suggest that co-culture with MFFC have a beneficial effect on the in vitro development of blastomeres from mouse embryos.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.245-251
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• 1989

In order to manifest the presence of Na-K pump and its property on the unfertilized egg membranes of mouse, membrane potential was recorded under the physiological condition (at $37^{\circ}C$ and 4mM $Ca^{2+}$). After an induction of superovulation, the fresh eggs with zona pellucida were collected from mouse oviduct. Transient hyperpolarization as pump action was recorded after the switch into the high potassium perfusate (15mM $K^+$) from K-free perfusate, and the difference between membrane potential observed just before the perfusion of high potassium solution and the maximal membrane potenlial during the perfusion of high potassium solution was regard as pump activities. The results observed were as follows, 1. Resting mombrane potential was depolarized under the treatment of $10^{-5}M$ ouabain. 2. Pump activities of the unfertilized mouse eggs were $-3.38{\pm}0.61mV$ ($Mean{\pm}SD$, n=6), recorded as transient hyperpolarization due to the electrogenic property. 3. Pump activities were blocked by both treatment of $10^{-5}M$ ouabain and perfusion of Nafree solution, while increased by high $Na^+$ (300mM) perfusion ($-7.45{\pm}0.75mV$, n =2). 4. Hyperpolarization due to pump activity was not altered by $Mn^{2+}$. 5. Above results confirm the presence of ouabain-sensitive Na-K pump, which affected the membrane potential directly, on the unfertilized egg membranes of mouse.

• 한국수정란이식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국수정란이식학회 2001년도 춘계학술세미나 및 워크숍
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• pp.4-16
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• 2001

Sperm competent for fertilization can become capacitated, bind to the zona pellucida (ZP)of an egg in a specific manner, and complete acrosomal exocytosis. Failure to carry out these functions results in infertility. Although the interactions between the ZP and the plasma membrane overlying the sperm acrosome have been considered important for sperm-egg recognition and signalling recent results have prompted a reassessment of current paradigms concerning these interactions. In this review, we're going to discuss about the roles of the acrosomal matrix, the particulate component of the acrosomal contents, in fertilization. The general hypothesis is that acrosomal exocytosis leads to the exposure of acrosomal matrix proteins that become de facto extracellula matrix(ECM) on the surface of the sperm head, and that the dynamic interactions of this newly-exposed sperm ECM with the egg ECM (the ZP) govern sperm-egg recognition and sperm penetration of the ZP. Informations from these experiments may provide new ways to address the poor ZP binding of sperm from some human infertility patients and may offer new avenues for contraception through the disruption of purposeful sperm-ZP binding.

• 한국동물번식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국동물번식학회 2003년도 학술발표대회 발표논문초록집
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• pp.30-30
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• 2003

The present study examined the developmental ability of embryonic stem (ES) cells aggregated with mouse parthenogenetic embryos. Oocytes obtained from superovulated female mouse (BCF1) were treated with 7% ethanol and 5 $\mu\textrm{g}$/$m\ell$ cytochalasin B (CB) for producing pathenotes and in vitro fertilized with fresh sperm for producing normal embryos. The reporter vector (pNeoEGFP) were inserted into ES cells (129S4/svJae) by electroporation. At the 8-cell stage, in vitro fertilized embryos and pathenotes, which the zona pellucida was removed, were co-cultured with 5~10 ES cells for 4 hr. After in vitro fertilized embryos and parthenotes aggregated with ES cells were incubated to blastocyst stage, and these blastocysts transferred into the uterus of pseudopregnant recipients. The fertilized embryos aggregated with ES cells were successfully developed to offspring, but the parthenotes aggregated with ES cells failed to develop offsprings. However, genomic DNA of ES cells was detected in the pathenogenetic fetus by polymerase chain reactions at 15 day post gestation. In this study, results indicated that parthenotes aggregated with ES cells showed possible development to fetus. In the future, this method may help to produce transgenic chimera from parthenotes aggregated with ES cells.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.23-34
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• 1991

In order to study the sperm-egg interaction during fertilization process in mouse, the effects of sperm concentration, the duration of capacitation and insemination, the stages of maturation and development of eggs, and sperm extracts and BSA on sperm binding to egg were examined. Sperm-egg binding was increased depending on sperm concentration within the range of $10^3-10^6$ sperm/ml. It showed the most numbers of sperm-egg binding at 60min from the beginning of preincubation(capacitation) and insemination, respectively. During sperm capacitation, sperm-egg binding inhibitor was released from sperm into the incubation medium. Sperm extracts containing trypsin-like enzyme which is secreted through the acrosome reaction increased the binding. BSA in the culture medium showed a positive effect on the binding. It is suggested that physicochemical alterations of zona pellucida in the process of maturation and fertilization of eggs leaded to inhibition of sperm-egg binding.

• 한국수정란이식학회지
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.13-19
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• 1993

These experiments were carried out to determine the effect of pregnancy in bisected embryo. The embryos of ICR mouse were microsurgically bisected at morula and blastocyst stage using microsurgical blade attached a micromanipulator. These bisected embryos without zona pellucida were cultured up to blastocyst stage and cell count and diameter of stained blastomere, and transferred pseudopregnant mice. And the development of these bisected embryos was compared with the results of production of young of the corresponding intact embryos or cell stage. When the bisected mouse embryos were cultured in vitro for 20 to 24 hours in morula stage(77.2%) or 3 to 6 hours in blastocyst stage(84.1%), them were developed to the expanded blastocyst stage. There were no significant(P<0.05) differences in the development rate of bisected embryos between in morula and blastocyst stages. The embryo size of blastocyst developed in vitro from bisected embryo was small(P<0.05)than intact embryo. However, the number of blastomeres with bisected embryo (24.7+1.3and 21.5+1.2 respectively) were significantly(P<0.05) reduced, compared with that of intacted embryos(36.3+1.1 and 41.4+1.2 respectively). When compared with the result of pregnancy rate(63.6%) after surgical transfer of bisected morulae, a similar result(65.4%) was obtained with bisected blastocyst stage(P< 0.05). However, production of youngs (38.8%) after transfer of bisected morula, a similar result (38.1%) was obtained with bisected blastocyst stage (P<0.05).

• 한국수정란이식학회지
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.171-174
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• 2012

Various small molecules can be used to control major signaling pathways to enhance stemness and inhibit differentiation in murine embryonic stem cell (mESC) culture. Small molecules inhibiting the fibroblast growth factor (FGF)/ERK pathway can preserve pluripotent cells from stimulation of differentiation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of pluripotin (SC-1), an inhibitor of the FGF/ERK pathway, on the colony formation of outgrowing presumptive mESCs. After plating the zona pellucida-free blastocyst on the feeder layer, attached cell clumps was cultured with SC-1 until the endpoint of the experiment at passage 10. In this experiment, when the number of colonies was counted at passage 3, SC-1-treated group showed 3.4 fold more mESC colonies when compared with control group. However, after passage 4, there was no stimulating effect of SC-1 on the colony formation. In conclusion, SC-1 treatment can be used to promote mESC generation by increasing the number of early mESC colonies.

• 한국가축번식학회지
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.275-280
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• 1997

This study was carried out to investigate on the survival and in vitro developmental rates of bisected bovine embryos by microblade, micropipette and pronase methods. Bisected embryos cultured for 1∼7 days in TCM-199 media with 10 FCS＋hormones. Survival and in vitro developmental rates was defined on in vitro culture or FDA-test. The results are summarized as follows ; 1. The survival and in vitro developmental rates of bisected bovine embryos by microblade, micropipette and pronase methods were 22.2, 16.7, 15.0% and 22.2, 23.3, 18.8%, respectively. In vitro developmental rate of bisected bovine embryos was significantly lower than that of non-bisection embryos(27.8% and 25.0%). 2. In vitro developmental rates of bovine embryos bisected for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 cells stages during in vitro culture in 10% FCS＋TCM-199 media were 25.0, 20.0, 20.0, 15.0 and 6.7%, respectively. 3. In vitro developmental rates of intact and free-zona pellucida of bisected demi-embryos during in vitro culture in 10% FCS＋TCM-199 media were 25.6, 16.7%, respectively. 4. In vitro developmental rates of biopsied embryos and biopsied blastomeres during in vitro culture in 10% FCS＋TCM-199 media were 20.0, 11.1%, respectively.