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Updated: May 16, 2026

Mouse Oocyte Microinjection, Maturation and Ploidy Assessment
Published on: July 23, 2011
Use of metaphase I oocytes matured in vitro is associated with embryo multinucleation
Sabrina De Vincentiis1, Evelyn De Martino, Mariano G Buffone
1Centro Médico Seremas, Buenos Aires, Argentina. sdv@seremas.com
Objective:
To evaluate the impact of oocyte maturational stage at retrieval on embryo multinucleation.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Setting:
Private institution for assisted reproduction.
Patient(S):
A total of 412 patients undergoing 500 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles between August 2006 and September 2010.
Intervention(S):
Routine ICSI laboratory procedures.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Normal and abnormal fertilization; embryo development; arrest at pronuclear stage; failure to undergo first mitotic division; presence of embryo multinucleation; embryo quality; pregnancy, implantation, and miscarriage rates.
Result(S):
A significantly lower percentage of multinucleation was found in embryos originating from metaphase II (MII) oocytes when compared with MI-II- and MI-derived oocytes. Significantly fewer multinucleated cells per embryo were observed in MII-derived oocytes. Clinical pregnancy and implantation rates were significantly higher when only embryos derived from MII oocytes were transferred.
Conclusion(S):
Embryo multinucleation rate increases when in vitro-matured (2-5 hours incubation) MI (MI-II) oocytes are used instead of in vivo-matured oocytes in ICSI. Furthermore, all other ICSI outcome parameters are also compromised. The use of donated gametes does not modify these results.
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