Cryopreservation of mammalian oocytes and embryos: current problems and future perspectives

Cryopreservation techniques for mammalian oocytes and embryos have rapidly progressed during the past two decades,emphasizing their importance in various assisted reproductive technologies.Pregnancies and live births resulting from cryopreserved oocytes and embryos of several species including humans have provided proof of principle and led to the adoption of cryopreservation as an integral part of clinical in vitro fertilization.Considerable progress has been achieved in the development and application of the cryopreservation of mammalian oocytes and embryos,including preservation of the reproductive potential of patients who may become infertile,establishment of cryopreserved oocyte banks,and transport of oocytes and embryos internationally.However,the success rates are still far lower than those obtained with fresh oocytes and embryos,and there are still obstacles that need to be overcome.In this review,we address the major obstacles in the development of effective cryopreservation techniques.Such knowledge may help to eliminate these hurdles by revealing which aspects need improvement.Furthermore,this information may encourage further research by cryobiologists and increase the practical use of cryopreservation as a major part of assisted reproductive technologies for both humans and animal species.     

Microinjection of in vitro transcribed RNA and antisense oligonucleotides in mouse oocytes and early embryos to study the gain- and loss-of-function of genes

Mouse oocytes have proven useful in experiments aimed at studying gene function. They have been used to analyze the gain-of-function acquired after microinjection of RNA transcribed in vitro from specific gene constructs, and for establishing loss-of-function mutation obtained by injecting in vitro transcribed antisense RNA and/or synthetic oligonucleotides. This article presents protocols utilized in these studies. Specifically, the acquisition of mouse oocytes and/or embryos, the genesis of the necessary DNA and/or RNA to be used, and procedures for microinjection.     

Differential expression of alloantigens of the major histocompatibility complex on unfertilized and fertilized mouse eggs

Mouse oocytes at the dictyate and metaphase II stages as well as fertilized eggs have been studied by indirect immunofluorescence for the expression of H-2 histocompatibility antigens on surface membranes. Serologically specific reactivity to H-2 antibody was observed as patchy fluorescence distributed over the surface of the oocyte membrane. In contrast, one-cell zygotes exhibited variable reactivity, and early two-cell stages were negative. Absorption studies confirmed the serologic specificity of the reactivity on oocytes, which could be shown to be due to H-2 antibody. The results suggest that fertilization results in altered expression of major histocompatibility complex surface antigens, and confirms earlier studies that cleavage stage mouse embryos are not reactive with H-2 antibody.     

The effects of ultrarapid freezing on meiotic and mitotic spindles of mouse oocytes and embryos

Preovulatory mouse oocytes and 2-cell embryos were frozen with dimethyl sulfoxide and propanediol by an ultrarapid method. The survival of frozen oocytes was low (33–34%) compared to that of 2-cell embryos (78–79%) with either cryoprotectant. Development to blastocysts after postthaw culture was about 7–15% for oocytes and 79–80% for the embryos. Ultrarapid freezing preserves cell structure quite well as revealed by electron microscopy, but meiotic oocytes and late 2-cell embryos undergoing mitosis showed evidence of spindle disorganization involving loss or clumping of microtubules resulting in some scattering of chromosomes. Embryos developed from frozen eggs showed clear evidence of micronuclear formation and incomplete incorporation of chromosomal material into main nuclei. These experiments confirm our observations on freezing of human oocytes and show that spindle microtubules are sensitive to freeze-thawing and that cryopreservation could cause chromosomal aberrations during early development. A cautious approach to the introduction of oocyte freezing in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs is advocated.     

Differential distribution of ganglioside GM1 and sulfatide during the development of Xenopus embryos

A frozen section technique for frog oocytes was developed without using any organic solvent. It was applied to examine the distribution of acidic glycosphingolipids (ganglioside GM1 and sulfatide) in Xenopus oocytes, eggs and embryos by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy with specific monoclonal antibodies against the acidic glycolipids. Although glycolipids are generally present on the cell surface, GM1 and sulfatide were distributed in the cytoplasm of animal and vegetal hemispheres, respectively, of the fully grown oocytes and oviposited and fertilized eggs. In blastula, GM1 was present on the cell boundaries and in the Golgi of the blastomeres of animal hemisphere and marginal zone, whereas the staining of the outermost layer of animal blastomeres became faint or negligible at stage 9. Sulfatide in blastula was still observed in vegetal blastomeres. In gastrula, GM1 was distributed in the inner layer of ectoderm and the involuting mesoderm. In neurula, GM1 was concentrated in the dorsal midline including the closing neural tube, notochord and somites, while sulfatide was present in endoderm. The unique distribution of GM1 and sulfatide in oocytes, eggs and early embryos may help to elucidate one aspect of the biochemical bases laid on the animal–vegetal polarity.     

Cloning of Mammals

A review of the development of the method of nuclear transplantation and cloning of animals with the use of nuclei of embryonic and adult cells is presented. We also present the results of studies of nuclear remodeling and reprogramming in the reconstructed oocyte and of cytoplasmic factors that control these processes.     

Age-Related Effect of Cells as Donors of Nuclei: On the Efficiency of the Development of Cloned Rabbit Embryos

We studied the capacity of the nuclei of rabbit fibroblasts taken from various developmental stages for reprogramming in the cytoplasm of mature aging enucleated oocytes and the development of the cloned embryos to the preimplantation stages. A negative correlation was found between the age of an animal donor of fibroblasts and the efficiency of the development of cloned embryos (r _{morula-blastocyst}= –0.826, r _blastocyst= –0.7139). A reliably decreased capacity for reprogramming of the nuclei of donor fibroblasts was shown upon the transition from prenatal development to postnatal development, as well as a trend to a decreased capacity of nuclei for reprogramming during aging. The aging of cells in the culture, at least until the tenth passage, did not affect the capacity of the nuclei of fetal fibroblasts for reprogramming and the development of cloned embryos.     

A Study of Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Electrofusion of Enucleated Eggs and Cells-Donors of Nuclei

We studied the capacity of rabbit oocytes for electrofusion with morula blastomeres and fetal fibroblasts. The morula blastomeres fused with aging ooplasts more readily than the fetal fibroblasts: 92.9 versus 63.0%, p < 0.001. The fetal fibroblasts fused with young enucleated oocytes more efficiently than with the aging ones: 98.4 versus 63.0%, p < 0.001. Serum starvation of the fetal fibroblasts in DMEM medium for 7–14 days reduced their capacity for fusion with young ooplasts, as compared to that after starvation for 0–4 days: 67.2 versus 98.9%, p < 0.01). The increased time of starvation in an impoverished medium reduced the capacity of fetal fibroblasts with aging ooplasts as compared to the fibroblasts cultivated in the full medium and in the impoverished medium for one or two days: 64.5 versus 37.4%, p < 0.01. Hence, the efficiency of the fusion of the oocytes with nuclear donor cells depends on the age of the recipient oocyte, the origin of nuclear donor cells, and the conditions of cultivation.     

Characterization of paracrystalline inclusions in chinese hamster oocytes and early embryos

Paracrystalline inclusions, readily visible with light microscopy, were found to be present in ovarian oocytes (beginning with unilaminar follicles), ovulated ova, and preimplantation embryos of the Chinese hamster. These inclusions appeared to be aggregates of finer filamentous structures visible only with electron microscopy. The use of various histochemical techniques suggested that the paracrystals were composed of protein with little or no lipid associated with them. Autoradiographic studies using ³H-uridine and enzymatic studies did not support the hypothesis that the paracrystalline inclusions were composed of RNA masked by a crystalline protein lattice.     

胸腺肽-β4在小鼠卵母细胞和早期胚胎中的表达与分布规律

胸腺肽-β4(thymosin-β4,Tb4)是一种重要的 G-actin遮蔽因子(G-actin sequestering factor),在细胞微丝活动中有着调节G-actin活性的作用． 以往报道证实了Tb4在细胞中具有广泛的生理作用,但其在哺乳动物卵母细胞成熟和早期胚胎发育等方面的作用,迄今还没有系统的研究报道． 以昆明白小鼠卵巢、卵母细胞和早期胚胎作为实验材料,以免疫( 荧光) 组织化学和RT-PCR技术为主要研究方法,对Tb4的表达与分布进行了研究． 结果显示,Tb4在相关发育过程中,存在差异性的表达和定位变化．结果表明,在小鼠卵母细胞成熟和早期胚胎的发育过程,Tb4能够通过表达与分布的变化对细胞微丝活动和细胞增殖活动进行调控,对小鼠卵母细胞成熟、早期胚胎发育以及胚胎着床过程有重要的作用．     

In vitro fertilization of bovine oocytes in protein-free culture system

We studied the possibility of fertilization of bovine oocyte-cumulus complexes, matured in vitro in a protein-free medium, in a protein-free culture system without preliminary capacitation of spermatozoa. The development of embryos to the morula-blastocyst and blastocyst stage was considered as a criterion of successful fertilization. It was shown that replacement of bovine serum albumin for polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinylpyrrolidone in Tyrode medium for fertilization did not affect significantly the development to the morula-blastocyst stage and the number of cells in blastocysts. It was also found that replacement bovine serum albumin for polyvinyl alcohol in all used media, Tyrode medium for washing of oocytes, medium for sperm preparation to fertilization, and Tyrode medium for fertilization, did not affect significantly the development to the morula-blastocyst and blastocyst stages, as well as on the number of cells in blastocysts. The results obtained suggest that in vitro fertilization of bovine oocyte-cumulus complexes is possible in a protein-free culture system without significant reduction in the capacity for in vitro development of the obtained embryos and number of cells in blastocysts.     

Nuclear transfer and electrofusion in bovine in vitro-matured/in vitro-fertilized embryos: Effect of media and electrical fusion parameters

In this study, micromanipulation and electrofusion conditions for the cloning of in vitro-produced bovine embryos (here after termed IVM/IVF embryos) derived from in vitro-matured (IVM) and in vitro-fertilized (IVF) oocytes were established. The effect of DC field strength on the fusion rate was tested in a model system using pronuclear stage embryos in which a cytoplasmic vesicle was removed and reinserted. Efficient fusion (80%) was obtained by applying a pulse of 1.75 kV/cm for 40 μsec. In vitro development of manipulated pronuclear stage embryos was as efficient as that of unmanipulated control embryos. Different fusion media were compared in the cloning procedure, using IVM oocytes as recipients and blastomeres from day 6 IVM/IVF donor embryos. Zimmermann cell fusion medium reduced the lysis of nuclear transfer embryos compared to F300 (5% vs. 25%). The effects of drugs disrupting the microfilaments and microtubuli were determined. Neither the addition of cytochalasin B (CCB) for 1 hr in the postfusion medium nor incubation of donor blastomeres with nocodazole had a significant effect on the fusion or cleavage rate of the nuclear transfer embryos. Additional experiments demonstrated that there was no difference in developmental potential between nuclear transfer embryos allowed to develop in vitro or in vivo and that the embryos gave a 15% pregnancy rate in recipient cattle. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Influence of the culture medium composition on cattle oocyte maturation and embryogenesisin vitro

We studied the capacity of the cattle oocyte for the resumption of meiosis and the achievement of metaphase II in various protein-free culture media (DMEM, TCM-199, Ham’s F-10, and Ham’s F-12) and the pattern of influence of the estrous serum on thein vitro development of fertilized cattle oocytes, with special reference to the time of its addition to the synthetic oviduct fluid containing BSA. In the first experimental series, it was shown that the highest number of oocytes (76.1%) resumed meiosis in DMEM medium. Meiosis was not resumed in Ham’s F-12. Intermediate results were obtained for TCM-199 (55.1%), which is commonly used for the maturation of cattle oocytesin vitro and for Ham’s F-10 (51.7%). The oocytes reached metaphase II in DMEM at a higher rate (45.3%) than in TCM-199 or Ham’s F-10 (29.4 and 8.6%, respectively). In the second experimental series, the estrous serum was added to the culture medium within 20 h (control) or 42 h (experiment) after the beginning of fertilization. The estrous serum did not inhibit the first cleavage division (the percentage of cleaving embryos did not differ reliably: 32.7 and 37.9%, respectively). However, a later serum addition to the culture medium (within 42 h after the beginning of fertilization) reliably increased the percentage of embryos that reached the blastocyst stage (6.5% in the control and 17.8% in the experiment) and the hatched blastocyst stage (2 and 9.2%, respectively).