In Vitro Microvibration Increases Implantation Rate after Embryonic Cell Transplantation

Abstract

In natural conditions the oocyte and embryo are subjected to ever-changing dynamic processes. However, the routine assisted reproductive technologies today involve the use of static in vitro culture systems. The objective was to determine whether there is any difference in the viability of embryos after in vitro culture under static and mechanical microvibration conditions. The viability of embryonic cells (9,624 embryos) generated from 4,436 couples after in vitro culture was evaluated. For groups £29, 30-34, 35-39, and ³40 years, the following rates of high-quality embryos without fragmentation (two to four blastomeres on day 2; six to eight blastomeres and compacting morula on day 3; blastocyst, expanded and hatching blastocyst on day 5) were detected (static vs. vibration, respectively): 65% versus 71%, 44% versus 69%, 67% versus 76% (for statistically significant differences between respective rates in these three groups, p < 0.05), and 67% versus 66% ( p > 0.1). The following baby-take-home rates were determined for groups £29, 30-34, 35-39, and ³40 years (static vs. vibration, respectively): 30% versus 31% ( p > 0.1, increasing only on the level of tendency), 28% versus 37%, 23% versus 29%, and 9% versus 15% (differences between respective rates in these three groups with p < 0.05). It was concluded that in vitro culture of embryos under microvibration (with a mimic of conditions in nature whereby oviductal fluid is mechanically agitated by the epithelial cilia) significantly increases the baby-take-home rate for patients 30 years and older.Key words: Embryonic cell transplantation; In vitro culture; Microvibration; Baby-take-home rate INTRODUCTIONInfertility is the inability of a person to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult organism 1 . In that way infertility is a disease, in essence. A reasonable question to propose is whether cell transplantation may be a viable option for the treatment of this disease. In fact, the most effective method of treatment for sterility is harvesting and transplanting embryonic cells (embryo).Embryo transplantation refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent of establishing a pregnancy. This technique is often used in connection with in vitro fertilization (IVF). In vitro embryo culture is a stage of IVF in which embryos are allowed to grow in an artificial medium 1 .IVF is a process by which an oocyte is fertilized by sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulation, removing oocytes from the ovaries, and letting sperm fertilize them in vitro. The fertilized oocytes are cultured for 2-6 days in a growth medium and are then transplanted into the uterus with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy. It is a technique of assisted reproductive technology for treatment of sterility 1 . All fertilization steps in nature (receiving the ovulated oocytes, fertilization of oocytes, and embryonic developmen...

Improvement of embryonic development and clinical outcomes of germinal vesicle stage oocytes using a microvibration culture system

“…Pregnancy rates resulting from embryos to which the MVC system was applied during IVC were 37% higher than for embryos to which the SC system was applied. A recent study using microvibration on embryos during IVC with a frequency of 44 Hz for 5 s per hour also demonstrated higher rates of good-quality embryos at the 2-8-cell cleavage stage and had higher rates of blastocyst development regardless of the patient's age compared to the SC system (Isachenko et al 2017). Although this study found no significant difference, the MVC system applied only during IVC obtained a higher number of good-quality embryos of more than six cells than the SC system applied only during IVC.…”

“…To improve in vitro embryo culture by mimicking this physical environment, dynamic culture systems have been developed with the use of microfunnels (Heo et al 2010), tilting (Matsuura et al 2010;Hara et al 2013), and microvibration (Isachenko et al 2010;Mizobe et al 2010). A study of human embryos using microvibration showed that, compared with the static culture (SC) system, mechanical stimulation of embryos during in vitro culture (IVC) increased the rates of the pregnancy, implantation, and live birth (Isachenko et al 2011(Isachenko et al , 2017. In poor responder patients, the embryo development rate was slightly improved in the microvibration culture (MVC) system; however, the clinical results significantly improved (Hur et al 2013).…”

A Comparison of Embryonic Development and Clinical Outcomes between In vitro Oocytes Maturation Using Micro-Vibration System and In vivo Oocytes Maturation in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Patients

“…Regarding the effect of micro-vibration on high-quality embryos and clinical pregnancy rates, when the embryos were cultured using MVC system at a frequencies between 20 and 44 Hz, the number of high-quality embryos and pregnancy rates increased significantly at each stage compared with those in the SC system [11,23]. Furthermore, Hur et al [9] found that rates of blastocyst development on day 5, pregnancy, and implantation were increased with the MVC system compared with the SC system in poor responder patients.…”

“…Thus, they are physically affected by mechanical forces or stimuli such as shear stress, kinetic friction forces, and vibration [8,9]. Recently, studies of human embryos using a micro-vibration culture (MVC) system based on vibrations of 5-20 Hz generated by ciliated epithelium cells of oviduct revealed that during in vitro culture (IVC), the mechanical stimulation of embryos increased the implantation, pregnancy, and live birth rates compared with the SC system [10,11]. Additionally, a study using micro-vibration on the immature oocytes of pigs showed that mechanical vibration can increase the cytoplasmic maturation of in vitro-matured oocytes in pigs, resulting in improved blastocyst development [12].…”

“Naturalization” of Routine Assisted Reproductive Technologies by In Vitro Culture of Embryos with Microvibration: Sex Ratio, Body Length, and Weight of 2,456 Live-Birth Deliveries after Transfer of 9,624 Embryos In Vitro Cultured in Static System and with Microvibration

“…Patients with infertility were stimulated for in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle or intracytoplasmic spermatozoa injection (ICSI) cycle with triptorelin (Decapeptyl®, Ferring, Kiel, Germany) and recombinant FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone, Puregon®, MSD Sharp & Dohme GmbH, Haar, Germany or Menogon®, MerckSerono GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, or Gonal-f®, MerckSerono GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany) according to the standard “short” protocol [ 8 – 10 ]. Ovulation was induced by the administration of 5000 IU (international unites) of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin, Brevactid®, Ferring GmbH, Kiel, Germany) and oocytes were retrieved 34–36 hours later and inseminated with the partner's sperm through conventional IVF and ICSI techniques.…”