In-vitro development of mouse zygotes following reconstruction by sequential transfer of germinal vesicles and...

We evaluated whether mouse oocytes reconstructed by germinal vesicle (GV) transfer can develop to blastocyst stage. The oocytes were artificially activated with sequential treatment of A23187 and anisomycin; fertilization was then established by transfer or exchange of pronuclei with those of zygotes fertilized in vivo. Type 1 zygotes were constructed by placing the male haploid pronucleus from a zygote into the cytoplasm of an oocyte that underwent GV transfer, in-vitro maturation and activation; for type 2 zygotes, the female pronucleus was removed from a zygote and replaced with the female pronucleus of an oocyte subjected to GV transfer, in-vitro maturation and activation. Karyotypes of activated oocytes and type 2 zygotes were also subjected to analysis. When cultured in human tubal fluid (HTF) medium, reconstructed oocytes matured and, following artificial activation, consistently developed a pronucleus with a haploid karyotype; the activation rate for this medium was two- to three-fold higher than that of oocytes cultured in M199 (87% versus 30% respectively). Following transfer of a male pronucleus, only 47% of the type 1 zygotes developed to morula or blastocyst stage and embryo morphology was poor. In contrast, 73% of the type 2 zygotes developed to morula or blastocyst stage, many even hatching, with few morphological anomalies. Normal karyotypes were observed in 88% of the type 2 zygotes analysed. These observations demonstrate that the nucleus of a mouse oocyte subjected to sequential nuclear transfer at GV and pronucleus stages is, nonetheless, capable of maturing meiotically, activating normally and supporting embryonic development to hatching blastocyst stage. In contrast, the developmental potential of the cytoplasm of such oocytes appears to be compromised by these procedures.