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Updated: May 1, 2026
Time-lapse Microscopy of Early Embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: August 25, 2011
Atypical embryo phenotypes identified by time-lapse microscopy: high prevalence and association with embryo
Kelly Athayde Wirka1, Alice A Chen1, Joe Conaghan2
1Auxogyn, Menlo Park, California.
Objective:
To characterize atypical dynamic embryo phenotypes identified by time-lapse microscopy, evaluate their prevalence, and determine their association with embryo development.
Design:
Retrospective multicenter cohort study.
Setting:
Five IVF clinics in the United States.
Patient(S):
Sixty-seven women undergoing IVF treatment with 651 embryos.
Intervention(S):
Embryo videos were retrospectively analyzed for atypical phenotypes.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Identification of four groups of atypical embryo phenotypes: abnormal syngamy (AS), abnormal first cytokinesis (A1(cyt)), abnormal cleavage (AC), and chaotic cleavage (CC). Prevalence and association with embryo morphology and development potential were evaluated.
Result(S):
A high prevalence of atypical phenotypes was observed among embryos: AS 25.1% (163/649), A1(cyt) 31.0% (195/639), AC 18% (115/639) and CC 15% (96/639). A high percentage of embryos with atypical phenotype(s) had good quality on day 3 (overall grade good or fair): AS 78.6% (70/89); A1(cyt) 79.7% (94/119), AC 86.4% (70/81), and CC 35.2% (19/54), but the blastocyst formation rates for these embryos were significantly lower compared with their respective control groups: AS 21.5% vs. 44.9%, A1(cyt) 21.7% vs. 44.6%, AC 11.7% vs. 43.1%, and CC 14.0% vs. 42.3%.
Conclusion(S):
Embryos exhibiting atypical phenotypes are highly prevalent in human embryos and show significantly lower developmental potential than control embryos.
Clinical Trial Registration Number:
NCT01369446.
