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Apoptosis in the human embryo.

K Hardy1

  • 1Department of Reproductive Science and Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.

Reviews of Reproduction
|October 16, 1999
PubMed
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Apoptosis, programmed cell death, is observed in human embryos that arrest development. While not present in healthy early embryos, it appears in later stages, potentially linked to poor culture or abnormal cell removal.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Preimplantation human embryos frequently exhibit cytoplasmic fragmentation and developmental arrest.
  • Early human embryonic loss is a significant concern in reproductive medicine.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review morphological and biochemical evidence for apoptosis in early human development.
  • To investigate the role of apoptosis in embryonic loss before the blastocyst stage.

Main Methods:

  • Examination of morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis in arrested human embryos.
  • Comparison of apoptotic markers in arrested versus normally developing embryos at various stages (morula, blastocyst).

Main Results:

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  • Embryos arrested for ≥24 hours show distinct signs of apoptosis, including cytoplasmic, nuclear, and DNA fragmentation.
  • Normal, developing embryos lack apoptosis evidence before compaction.
  • Scattered apoptotic cells are observed in morula and blastocyst stages of otherwise good morphology embryos.

    • Conclusions:

    • Apoptosis is a feature of arrested human preimplantation embryos and may contribute to embryonic loss.
    • Potential triggers include suboptimal culture conditions or the elimination of abnormal cells.
    • The precise causes, regulatory mechanisms, and overall role of apoptosis in human preimplantation development require further investigation.