Incidence, dynamics and recurrences of reverse cleavage in aneuploid, mosaic and euploid blastocysts, and its relationship with embryo quality

Abstract

Background During embryonic development, the normality of cleavage and the ploidy state are closely related to the final clinical outcome. At present, many research teams are focusing on the combined application of timelapse (TL) technology and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) technology, hoping to find a connection between the two aspects of morphodynamics and genes. In the process of embryonic cleavage, there is a common abnormal cleavage pattern called reverse cleavage (RC). RC refers to blastomere fusion and failed cytokinesis. There are very few reports about it. Whether the occurrence of RC affects blastocyst euploidy is even less clear. Whether the RC phenomenon affects the embryonic developmental potential and whether it is related to the embryo ploidy. This is important for clinicians and embryologists. In this study, we used TL to observe whether there was a phenomenon of RC in each biopsy embryo and then combined it with the ploidy state to give an answer, which provided support for the selection strategy of RC embryos. Methods A total of 405 TL-PGT cycles and 1,467 blastocysts were included in the study. All TL data were collected from the Reproductive Medicine Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Hospital. Embryos images throughout embryonic development, from post-insemination to day 5 or 6 until biopsy and cryopreservation, were acquired by the Embryoscope Plus TL microscopy system from January 2019 to December 2020. This study investigated the overall incidence of RC during cleavage; the relationship between RC phenomenon and the number of occurrences and ploidy results; the relationship between RC occurrence and blastocyst developmental quality, as well as the dynamics of RC embryos. Results Among the 1,453 blastocysts biopsied, 400 blastocysts showed RC phenomenon at the cleavage stage, and the incidence rate was 25.9%. In euploid, mosaic and aneuploid embryos, the incidence of RC was 27.2%, 26.6%, and 25.0%, respectively. The incidence of RC was similar among these three groups with no significant difference (P > 0.05). The number of RC occurrences was not associated with embryo ploidy status (P > 0.05). In general, the blastocyst quality of the RC + group was lower than that of the RC- group. In the ICM score, the proportion of A score in the RC + group was significantly lower than that in RC- group (P < 0.05). In the TE score, there was no significant difference between the two groups of A-grade blastocysts, but the proportion of B-grade blastocysts in the RC + group was significantly lower than that in the RC- group (P < 0.01). In terms of developmental kinetic parameters, the cleavage synchrony parameters s2 and s3 were significantly longer in RC + embryos than in RC- embryos (P < 0.05). However, these changes in kinetic parameters were not significantly different between the euploid, mosaic and aneuploid groups. Conclusions The chromosomal euploidy of cleavage-stage embryos with RC phenomenon developed to the blastocyst stage was not significantly different from that of cleavage normal blastocysts. Therefore, RC embryos should not be discarded. It is recommended to select and utilize blastocyst culture, which has similar clinical value to normal cleavage embryos.

Association between the morphokinetics of in-vitro-derived bovine embryos and the transcriptomic profile of the derived blastocysts

“…Previous studies in humans suggest that reverse cleavage is associated with decreased cytoskeleton function, in particular, that of the actomyosin component, which is responsible for cytokinesis progression. Such an alteration might lead to polyploidy and chromosomal mosaicism or to an abnormality in the cell membrane [ 44 ]. Recent study in human, reported that about 25.9% of the developed blastocysts underwent reverse cleavage through the 3-first divisions.…”

Morphokinetic Profiling Suggests That Rapid First Cleavage Division Accurately Predicts the Chances of Blastulation in Pig In Vitro Produced Embryos

“…These results are consistent with some limited studies in humans [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Conflict in the literature, however, exists with some clinical data showing that reverse cleavage cannot be used as a deselection criterion and that the presence of reverse cleavage is not associated with increased aneuploidy rates [ 59 , 60 ]. At the time of writing, the only comparable study in livestock indicated that reverse cleavage in cattle embryos reduced the incidence of hatching, increased blastocyst collapse and chromosomal aneuploidy [ 29 ].…”

Abnormal cleavage up to Day 3 does not compromise live birth and neonatal outcomes of embryos that have achieved full blastulation: a retrospective cohort study

“…Unlike other categories of qualitative parameters used for TLI embryo selection, ABNCL patterns are relatively better defined and clinically applied ( ESHRE Working group on Time-lapse technology, 2020 ). It is well reported that ABNCL leads to a myriad of adverse outcomes such as reduced blastulation ( Meseguer et al , 2011 ; Athayde Wirka et al , 2014 ; Shavit et al , 2023 ), lower blastocyst quality ( Ho et al , 2018 ; Jin et al , 2022 ), and decreased implantation potential when transferring at the cleavage stage ( Rubio et al , 2012 ; Liu et al , 2014 , 2015 ; Fan et al , 2016 ; Barrie et al , 2017 ). Previous studies have focused on the incidence of DC at the 1-cell and 2-cell stage ( Athayde Wirka et al , 2014 ; Fan et al , 2016 ), while few have considered the combined impacts of different ABNCL types up to Day 3 or beyond the 4-cell stage by a structured classification system.…”