Time sequence of in vitro maturation and chromosomal normality in metaphase I and metaphase II of the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) oocyte

Chromosome analysis of preovulatory human oocytes and oocytes failing to cleave following insemination in vitro

These investigations were carried out within a clinical in vitro fertilization and egg replacement program. A gradual fixation method for chromosome preparations of animal oocytes, when modified and applied to human oocytes, gave numerical analyzability in about 80%. Of preovulatory oocytes recovered in stimulated cycles, 53% of oocytes with numbers of chromosomes in the haploid range had an apparently normal set of 23 chromosomes. Oocytes with a very low number of chromosomes or in first meiosis were also found. In a separate investigation the chromosome constitution of oocytes not showing clinical signs of fertilization 48 hours after insemination in vitro was also studied. Of the oocytes with numbers of chromosomes in the haploid range, 50% had a normal 23,X karyotype. A different distribution of abnormal chromosome preparations was found, compared with the preovulatory oocytes. Twelve oocytes (16%) carrying between 10 and 18 chromosomes were found among the inseminated oocytes, but none in the other study. Moreover, 15 preparations displayed no chromosomes in the inseminated oocytes, whereas in the uninseminated group, none lacked chromosomes completely. These results may indicate how unfertilized human oocytes in vitro undergo chromosome loss and degeneration and could represent different stages of degeneration. Among both preovulatory and unfertilized oocytes the distribution between hyper- and hypohaploid oocytes was of particular interest in that hypohaploid chromosome complements were in excess. This finding supports the hypothesis that aberration in the number of chromosomes in an oocyte is caused not only by nondisjunction but also by anaphase lag, since nondisjunction alone would result in a 1: 1 ratio between hyper- and hypohaploid complements. In conclusion, human oocytes recovered for in vitro fertilization seem to have an incidence of numerical chromosome abnormalities in the region of 40-50%. This is close to the figures estimated on the basis of observations made in spontaneous abortions and could be a major explanation for the low developmental potential of human cleavage stage ova.

Abnormal chromosome behavior in human oocytes which remained unfertilized during human in vitro fertilization

Chromosomal abnormalities and abnormal embryonic development have previously been observed after human in vitro fertilization (IVF). Chromosomal abnormalities may arise not only after fertilization but even earlier during meiotic maturation of human oocytes in culture. Since chromosomal analysis is simple in oocytes during meiotic maturation, the chromosomal status was analyzed in oocytes which remained unfertilized in a human in vitro fertilization program. In 50 fertilization attempts the chromosomes of 62 unfertilized oocytes could be analyzed; 45 of them were in the process of meiotic maturation. In three oocytes two small polar bodies were observed 16-18 hr after insemination in the absence of fertilization. In one oocyte abnormal chromosome behavior was found during the first meiotic division, and in four oocytes during metaphase of the second meiotic division. These data suggest that chromosomal analysis of unfertilized oocytes in human IVF may improve the understanding human oocyte maturation and fertilization.

Preimplantation development of the primate embryo after in vitro fertilization

The developing use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a human clinical procedure has prompted the exploitation of nonhuman primates to assess the chromosomal and biochemical normality of embryos produced by IVF. Of 1995 oocytes recovered from squirrel monkeys, 628 (31.5%) matured and 339 (54.0%) fertilized. Fertility can be significantly enhanced by the addition of 1 or 10 microM dbcAMP to the culture medium. Chromosome analysis of oocytes and embryos used in these studies revealed an incidence of abnormality between 7 and 25%, comparable with that found for both in vivo and in vitro fertilized embryos from other laboratory species. There is no evidence that the IVF technique increases chromosomal abnormality. There was a decrease in protein synthesis of oocytes at maturation and during the early embryonic development stages, but an increase in the rate of RNA synthesis as development progressed. There was steroid uptake in early preimplantation embryos. The temporal relationships of early embryonic developmental events in the squirrel monkey have been determined.