Comparison of Blastocyst and Sage Media for In Vitro Maturation of Human Immature Oocytes

Abstract

In vitro maturation (IVM) of human oocytes is an attractive alternative to conventional assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment, as it involves no or minimal ovarian stimulation. Currently, commercialized media specifically designed for IVM are often used. These media are expensive, have limited shelf life, and must be ordered in advance. If standard culture media can be used in place of the specialized IVM media, it would simplify management and make IVM more feasible and more widely employed in ART centers around the world, especially in developing countries where resources are scarce. This study was, therefore, conducted to test the hypothesis that blastocyst medium was as good as commercial IVM medium to support maturation and developmental competence of human immature oocytes as previously shown in the mouse system. Immature oocytes were obtained by needle aspiration from 89 pregnant women during cesarean deliveries between April 2012 and February 2013. Sibling oocytes were allocated to Sage IVM media (512 oocytes) or blastocyst medium (520 oocytes) and assessed for maturation 36 hours later. Mature oocytes were inseminated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection and cultured up to 144 hours. There was no difference in maturation rate (65.0% vs 68.7%; P ¼ .218) or fertilization rate (66.9% vs 66.4%; P ¼ .872) of oocytes matured in vitro in both media. There was also no difference in the formation of good-quality blastocysts (46.6% vs 45.9%; P ¼ .889) in the 2 groups. Further study should be done to ascertain implantation and pregnancy potential of these embryos.

The effects of different types of media on in vitro maturation outcomes of human germinal vesicle oocytes retrieved in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles

“…A longer incubation time of GV oocytes did not significantly improve the maturation rate. There is no consensus regarding the optimal maturation timing of oocytes in IVM cycles, and various approaches to timing have been reported in experimental studies [ 12 17 ]. However, a previous study showed that the rates of cleavage and blastocyst development in oocytes matured 48 hours after IVM (72.2%, 19.0%) were significantly lower than in those that matured 24 hours after IVM (91.5%, 50.4%) [ 17 ], which agrees with our results.…”

“…Few studies have compared the efficacy of different IVM media on immature oocytes obtained from stimulated or non-stimulated cycles. Recently, Pongsuthirak et al [ 12 ] and Pongsuthirak and Vutyavanich [ 19 ] compared MediCult IVM media (Origio) with Sage IVM media (Cooper Surgical), as well as blastocyst and Sage media, in two randomized controlled trials using immature human oocytes obtained during cesarean deliveries. They showed no differences ( p >0.05) in maturation (65% vs. 69%) or fertilization (65.2% vs. 69%) between oocytes in the different media groups.…”

“…However, applying these specially formulated commercial media has several disadvantages, such as a limited shelf life and the fact that they are more costly than standard culture media for assisted IVF centers where IVM services are not routinely performed. A recent study showed that blastocyst medium was suitable for the IVM of human immature oocytes, based on a comparison with Sage IVM medium in unstimulated IVF cycles [ 12 ]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of four types of media (homemade IVM medium, cleavage medium, blastocyst medium, and Sage IVM medium) in stimulated intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles, as assessed by the rates of oocyte maturation, fertilization, and high-quality embryo formation.…”

In vitro maturation of human immature oocytes for fertility preservation and research material

“…Recently, several studies have reported in vivo oocyte collection from ovaries during surgery and the performance of the IVM of immature oocytes. In vivo immature oocyte collection also has been reported during Cesarean section for research 38 and during ovarian enucleation for FP. 39 Several reports described cases in which COH was performed before surgery and the mature oocytes were collected in vivo 40 or ex vivo 41,42 for FP.…”

Efficacy of the in vitro splitting of human preimplantation embryos from ART programs

“…The denuded oocytes were classified as either mature (MII) or immature (GV or MI) oocytes. Good quality immature oocytes were cultured in blastocyst medium (G-2 v5 Media, Vitrolife, Sweden) (22) supplemented with 75 mIU mL -1 FSH and 75 mIU mL -1 LH (Ferring) at 37 °C in an incubator under 5% CO 2 and 95% air with high humidity. The maturity of the oocytes was assessed using a stereomicroscope (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) 24 h after IVM.…”