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Updated: May 22, 2026
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Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Vitrification: Clinical and Laboratory Perspectives
Published on: September 16, 2021
One-step warming procedure improves embryonic development of vitrified mouse oocytes by mitigating mitochondrial
Hao Wang1, Mingzhe Li2, Qi Jiang3
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Reproductive Medicine, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, and International School of Medicine, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu, China.
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics
|May 21, 2026
Summary
The one-step warming (OW) method enhances vitrified oocyte survival and blastocyst development post-fertilization. This improved potential is linked to reduced mitochondrial damage, offering a better approach for assisted reproductive technologies.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Biology
- Cryobiology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Oocyte cryopreservation is crucial for assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs).
- Warming protocols significantly impact the viability and developmental capacity of vitrified oocytes.
- Optimizing warming procedures is essential for improving ART success rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a one-step warming (OW) procedure compared to standard multi-step warming (SW) for vitrified oocytes.
- To assess the impact of OW on oocyte survival, fertilization, and early embryonic development.
- To investigate the underlying mechanisms, including mitochondrial function and apoptosis, affected by the warming method.
Main Methods:
- Vitrified mouse oocytes were warmed using either SW or OW protocols.
- Oocyte survival and fertilization rates were assessed after piezo-intrafallopian tube sperm injection (ICSI).
- Spindle integrity, mitochondrial status (using Mitotracker/JC-1 staining and confocal microscopy), and blastocyst apoptosis (TUNEL assay) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- The OW procedure demonstrated comparable oocyte survival and fertilization rates to the SW procedure.
- Significantly higher blastocyst development rates were observed following OW compared to SW (P < 0.05).
- OW mitigated mitochondrial damage, contributing to enhanced embryonic developmental potential.
Conclusions:
- The one-step warming (OW) procedure is a viable and effective method for warming vitrified oocytes.
- OW improves embryonic developmental potential by preserving mitochondrial integrity.
- These findings support the optimization of OW protocols for clinical application in ARTs.
