A modified holding pipette for mouse oocyte fertilization.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Biology
• Animal Models
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Assisted reproductive technology (ART) safety is a key concern.
• Existing animal models for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have limitations in replicating human procedures.
• Developing accurate animal models is crucial for assessing ART safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a modified holding pipette for mouse oocyte injection.
• To compare the efficacy of the modified pipette with conventional human and trumpet-shaped pipettes.
• To establish a more suitable animal model for ICSI safety research.

Main Methods:

• A modified holding pipette was designed for mouse oocyte injection.
• Oocytes were injected using the modified pipette, a human conventional pipette, and a trumpet-shaped pipette.
• Injected oocytes were cultured to cleavage embryos, followed by fallopian transfer and assessment of live birth rates.

Main Results:

• The modified and trumpet-shaped pipettes yielded significantly higher oocyte survival (85.71%, 83.44%) and embryo cleavage rates (42.42%, 41.98%) compared to the human pipette (65.85%, 27.78%).
• Live pups were produced using the modified pipette (three pups) and the human pipette (one pup), while none resulted from the trumpet-shaped pipette.
• The modified holding pipette demonstrated effectiveness and ease of preparation.

Conclusions:

• The modified holding pipette is an effective tool for mouse oocyte injection.
• This method successfully produced live pups, offering a valuable animal model for future ICSI safety studies.
• The developed pipette improves upon existing methods, enhancing the reliability of ART safety research in animal models.