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Updated: Jun 8, 2026
The Immediate Partial Removal of Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes: A Refined Approach for Rapid Observation of In Vitro Fertilization
Published on: October 18, 2024
Biomarkers of human oocyte developmental competence expressed in cumulus cells before ICSI: a preliminary study
Mourad Assidi1, Markus Montag, Katrin Van der Ven
1Centre de recherche en biologie de la reproduction, Département des Sciences Animales, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada, G1K 7P4.
Purpose:
To identify reliable genomic biomarkers expressed in cumulus cells that accurately and non-invasively predict the oocyte developmental competence and reinforce the already used morphological criteria.
Methods:
Eight consenting patients were selected for ovarian stimulation and ICSI procedures. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were transvaginally punctured and individually selected based on both good morphological criteria and high zona pellucida birefringence. Following ICSI, two 3-day embryos per patient were transferred. Pregnancy outcome was recorded and proven implantation was thereafter confirmed. Differential gene expression was assessed using two microarray platforms. Further real-time PCR validation, Ingenuity pathways analysis and intra-patient analysis were performed on 17 selected candidates.
Results:
Seven genes were differentially (p ≤ 0.05) associated to successful pregnancy and implantation. These biomarkers could be used to predict the oocyte developmental competence.
Conclusions:
These genomic markers are a powerful reinforcement of morphological approaches of oocyte selection. Their large-scale validation could increase pregnancy outcome and single embryo transfer efficiency.
