Spectral karyotyping of fresh, non-inseminated oocytes

The object of this study was to determine the mechanisms producing aneuploidy in female meiosis I by analysing the whole chromosome complement of human non-inseminated and unfertilized fresh oocytes. For this purpose, 131 fresh oocytes were obtained from 16 oocyte donors (24-48 years old). These oocytes were fixed immediately after retrieval and 47 good quality metaphases from 13 donors were analysed by spectral karyotyping to identify all 23 chromosome types. The data was divided into two maternal age groups, 24-34 (n = 31) and > or = 35 years (n = 16). More non-disjunction (13 and 25%), unbalanced predivision (10 and 44%, P < 0.01) and balanced predivision (6 and 62%, P < 0.001) events were found in the older group of oocytes. There was an increase in balanced predivision with decreasing chromosome size (P < 0.001). The present results are the first obtained in fresh oocytes where all chromosomes were specifically identified, and support previous theories that predivision of chromatids is a major factor causing aneuploidy. Previous reports with inseminated, non-fertilized oocytes fixed > or = 24 h after retrieval suffered from artefactual predivision of chromatids triggered by in-vitro ageing of oocytes.