The golden hamster is a mammal in which microinjection of round spermatids into oocytes (ROSI) was first attempted. However, no live ROSI offspring have ever been obtained in this species. This is the first report of live hamster offspring obtained by round spermatid injection. Over 90% of oocytes, injected with round spermatids, were activated without any additional stimulation. The proportion of the oocytes that were fertilized normally and that developed to morulae and blastocysts was higher when the plasma membranes of the spermatids were broken before injection, as compared with when the membranes were left intact. Five percent of 57 ROSI morulae/blastocysts developed into live offspring after transfer to foster mothers.
Klinefelter's syndrome and spinal cord injury are major causes of male infertility. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a relatively new method of assisted reproduction. A testicular biopsy was obtained from a patient with the double complications of non-mosaic 47,XXY Klinefelter's syndrome and spinal cord damage, and motile spermatozoa were collected. ICSI was then performed. Of the four sperm-injected oocytes, three became fertilized and cleaved. Two embryos were implanted, resulting in a single pregnancy with visible evidence of a heartbeat appearing at 6 weeks gestation. The pregnancy is now entering its 20th week. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of a pregnancy resulting from the sperm of a patient with double complications.
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