Effect of red light on the development and quality of mammalian embryos

Abstract

Purpose To assess irradiance and total energy dose from different microscopes during the in-vitro embryonic developmental cycle in mouse and pig and to evaluate its effect on embryonic development and quality in pig. Method Spectral scalar irradiance (380-1050 nm) was measured by a fiber-optic microsensor in the focal plane of a dissection microscope, an inverted microscope and a timelapse incubation system. Furthermore, the effect of three different red light levels was tested in the time-lapse system on mouse zygotes for 5 days, and on porcine zona-intact and zona-free parthenogenetically activated (PA) embryos for 6 days. Results The time-lapse system used red light centered at 625 nm and with a lower irradiance level as compared to the white light irradiance levels on the dissection and inverted microscopes, which included more energetic radiation <550 nm. Even after 1000 times higher total energy dose of red light exposure in the time-lapse system, no significant difference was found neither in blastocyst development of mouse zygotes nor in blastocyst rates and total cell number of blastocysts of porcine PA embryos. Conclusions Our results indicate that red light (625 nm, 0.34 W/ m 2 ) used in the time-lapse incubation system does not decrease the development and quality of blastocysts in both mouse zygotes and porcine PA embryos (both zona-intact and zona-free).

Comparison of the development of human embryos cultured in either an EmbryoScope or benchtop incubator

“…Mio et al reported no difference in clinical pregnancy rate after time-lapse observation, compared with standard incubation [26]. Li et al proved that in both mouse zygotes and porcine embryos, red light used in the time-lapse incubator does not decrease blastocyst formation compared to standard incubation [56]. In addition, a study published by Nakahara et al concluded that there is a little effect on embryos from exposure during time-lapse observation, therefore can be securely used for clinical purposes [27].…”

Effect of blue light‐emitting diode light and antioxidant potential in a somatic cell

“…However, green and red light seems to have no or negligible effects on cellular growth suppression compared with blue light. Both green and red light emits longer wavelengths compared with blue light (Korhonen et al, ; Kuse et al, ; Li et al, , b; Rohringer et al, ). Since longer‐wavelength light contains less energy, it is less likely to be absorbed by biological molecules and thus not mediate a reaction at the threshold level to cause damage associated with shorter wavelengths.…”

“…Although the impact of light on tissue is diverse (Fodor et al, ; Tuchin, ), visible light wavelengths seem to be closely associated with the incidence and extent of cellular damage, that is, the damage is more prominent in shorter wavelengths than in those that are longer (Takenaka et al, ; Oh et al, ; Kuse et al, ; Contin et al, ; Mignon et al, ; Rohringer et al, ). The harmful effects associated with shorter wavelengths include potential damage/alteration to the gene, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), or protein, which leads to lower cell viability, deterioration in cell quality, and acceleration of damage or death (Takenaka et al, ; Li et al, ; Contin et al, ). These unwanted consequences of light are also related to the etiology of many diseases, such as cellular aging, age‐related pathologies, and tumorigenesis (Setlow et al, ; Setlow and Woodhead, ).…”

Impact of the IVF laboratory environment on human preimplantation embryo phenotype

“…[259][260][261][262][263][264][265] This appears to be dependent on the wavelength of light, and longer wavelengths have less effect on stress response and development of animal embryos. 262,266,267 Although there is no evidence regarding the effect of light on human embryos, the use of filters on microscopes has been suggested to reduce the potentially damaging effect of light in IVF clinics. 268 The light used during time-lapse photography is usually red and therefore less likely to cause a stress response, and exposure is also very brief.…”