Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
11
pubmed:dateCreated
1998-2-17
pubmed:abstractText
Mammalian embryos are known to exhibit delayed development and have lower hatching rates in vitro than in vivo because of inadequate culture condition. These discrepancies may be due to a deficiency of the paracrine factors and proteolytic enzymes which exist in the oviduct and uterus. In order to evaluate the effects of proteases on embryonic development and hatching, 2-cell mouse embryos were cultured for 72 h with or without proteases. The addition of 1.0 microg/ml pronase (PE) and/or 0.1 microg/ml proteinase K (PK) did not affect embryonic development up to the blastocyst stage (94.1% versus 88.2%; 92.2% versus 90.2%, respectively) but significantly increased the hatching rate (60.4% versus 39.2%, 71.8% versus 35.3%, respectively). However, the addition of alpha-chymotrypsin (Chymo) was detrimental to embryonic development and hatching. Changes in the structure of the zona pellucida (ZP) structure of embryos which had been cultured in human tubal fluid (HTF) medium with PE and PK were assessed by fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated (FITC)-casein. Embryos cultured in HTF-PE and PK were not stained with FITC-casein. When these embryos were cultured within oviducts, their perivitelline space (PVS) became strongly stained with FITC-casein which was easily removed by phosphate-buffered saline washing. This suggests that PE and PK altered the structure of the ZP. We suggest that the addition of PE and PK to culture media may accelerate the hatching of embryo, by structurally altering the ZP and PVS. This may provide a valuable and effective assisted hatching technique for human in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Nov
pubmed:issn
0268-1161
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
12
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
2493-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
The supplementation of culture medium with protease improves the hatching rate of mouse embryos.
pubmed:affiliation
Infertility Research Center, Jeil Women's Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't