Commercially available enhanced IVM medium does not improve maturation of GV and MI oocytes in standard IVF cases

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In Vitro Maturation (IVM) medium systems were designed for the maturation of immature oocytes from patients who had not recieved human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) treatment prior to retrieval. However, routine IVF patients treated with hCG frequently produce immature oocytes at retrieval. We investigated the effect of different culture media on the maturation rate of immature oocytes retrieved from IVF patients in hope of creating a potential source of valuable scientific and clinical materials. DESIGN: Prospective analysis of oocyte maturation in different culture media. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 72 Germinal Vesicle (GV) and 55 Metaphase I (MI) oocytes were donated by patients for research use of discarded tissues. Oocytes were retrieved 36 hours post-hCG and treated with hyaluronidase after ∼4 hours for maturity assessment. Immature oocytes were randomly assigned to Group 1: Observation in culture medium or Group 2: Observation in Medicult IVM Medium (Medicult, Denmark). Culture medium consisted of 5% Human Serum Albumin in Quinn's Advantage Cleavage Medium (Sage IVF Inc., Pasadena, CA). The Medicult IVM Medium was prepared by supplementation with FSH and hCG (Gonal f and Ovidrel, EMD Serono, Rockland, MD). After 24 hours oocytes were re-assessed for maturity. Chi-square was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The overall conversion rates after 24 hours of culture were not significant between the two culture media.TableIVM after 24 hoursGroup 1Group 2GV to MI4/38 (10.5%)10/34 (29.4%)GV to MII19/38 (50.5%)14/34 (41.2%)MI to MII25/31 (80.6%)16/24 (66.67%) Open table in a new tab CONCLUSIONS: Post-hCG treated immature oocytes may have clinical potential if they can be reliably matured in vitro. We demonstrated that the enhanced IVM medium did not significantly improve the rate of maturation of immature oocytes in 24 hours. Further studies emphasizing proteiomic, transcriptomic and spindle morphology analysis will help determine the reproductive competence of in vitro matured oocytes.