Related Experiment Videos
A case of failed oocyte maturation in vivo and in vitro
G Hartshorne1, S Montgomery, L Klentzeris
1Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Walsgrave Hospitals NHS Trust, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom. hx@dna.bio.warwick.ac.uk
Objective:
To study a couple for whom all oocytes failed to mature during three attempts at IVF/ICSI treatment. Our aims were (a) to promote oocyte maturation in vitro and (b) to identify the stage of maturation arrest.
Design:
Case report.
Setting:
Infertility treatment center with academic research links.
Patient(S):
Couple with unexplained infertility.
Intervention(S):
Exogenous gonadotropin stimulation culminating in the retrieval of eight oocyte-cumulus complexes that were exposed to gonadotropins for 24 hours in vitro.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Observation of oocyte cumulus complexes, measurements of oocyte diameter, oocyte chromatin staining with Hoechst 33258.
Result(S):
The cumulus complexes varied in appearance and expanded in vitro, but yielded immature oocytes. Germinal vesicle breakdown occurred in all oocytes and chromatin was consistent with arrest at entry into M-phase. The oocytes were of a size normally competent to mature.
Conclusion(S):
Infertility in this couple was attributed to the failure of oocytes to enter M-phase. This was not overcome by exposure to gonadotropins in vitro nor associated with incompetence due to small oocyte size.