Assisted oocyte activation effects on the morphokinetic pattern of derived embryos

Ionophore application for artificial oocyte activation and its potential effect on morphokinetics: a sibling oocyte study

“…In particular, in the present study, the shortening of the latency of the Ca 2+ signal was reflected by an earlier t2PNa in the ionophore group. In contrast to the Spanish study [ 24 ], no further morphokinetic parameters up to tB were affected. More interestingly, this study suggests a more synchronized cleavage pattern in embryonic cell cycle 3 (referred to as s3), in which the individual blastomeres of the 4-cell embryo cleaved in an orchestrated manner until the 8-cell stage was reached.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the potential association between ionophore usage and morphokinetics. In line with Martínez et al [ 24 ], an accelerated series of events at very early stages of oocyte activation/fertilization was observed. In particular, in the present study, the shortening of the latency of the Ca 2+ signal was reflected by an earlier t2PNa in the ionophore group.…”

“…Alternatively, different study designs may have played a role. All the time-lapse literature cited above [21][22][23][24] used controls that were not cultured under identical (although comparable) culture conditions. We believe that a sibling oocyte approach could circumvent these limitations.…”

“…This flaw makes the only available original study on AOA and time-lapse imaging of particular interest. These authors [ 24 ] highlighted that the effect of ionomycin on the morphokinetics of (donated) oocytes and the associated embryos was minimal and limited to very early events such as t2PB and t3. They speculated that ionomycin produces a quicker increase in intracellular Ca 2+ compared to sole injection of sperm alone.…”

“…In this context, information on the potential effects of AOA, for example application of an ionophore on cleavage behavior, is scarce and primarily based on preliminary data from posters [ 21 , 22 ] or oral presentations [ 23 ]. Recently, Martínez et al [ 24 ] were the first to evaluate the association between AOA and morphokinetics in donor oocyte cycles of patients with a known mutation in the PLCζ1 gene in great detail.…”