In vitro maturation of germinal vesicle oocytes in stimulated intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles

Objective: This study evaluated in vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes in the germinal vesicle (GV) stage in stimulated intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Materials and Methods: A total of 26 women, aged 18-37 years, who were candidates for ICSI at the Fatemeh Zahra Infertility and Health Reproductive Research Center in 2007 were recruited for this study. We used the standard long protocol for ovarian stimulation. Follicles >11 mm were punctured 36-38 hours after administration of 10000 IU human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Immature oocytes were cultured for 24-30 hours. Oocytes that liberated polar bodies were injected by sperm prepared within the previous day. IVM fertilized oocytes were cultured an additional 24-30 hours for cleavage. The rates of maturation, fertilization and cleavage in IVM oocytes were recorded and statistically compared to in vivo matured sibling oocytes. Results: There were 279 collected oocytes (mean±SD: 10.73 ±6.2), of which 4.08±2.79 were subjected to IVM. An average of 2.73 ±2.15 GV oocytes (70%) developed to metaphase II (MII). Although the maturation rate significantly differed between the IVM and in vivo Mil sibling oocyte groups (p=0.027), the numbers of fertilized oocytes (p=0.795) and cleaved embryos (p=0.529) were not significantly high in the in vivo group. Transfer of IVM embryos occurred in only three cases with one pregnancy that resulted in the delivery of a healthy baby. Conclusion: This study shows that culturing GV oocytes can produce acceptable numbers of four-cell embryos on the transfer day. The developmental competence of oocytes is not significantly different between early stage IVM and in vivo sibling embryos

Influence of diazinon on spermatogenesis in mice

Introduction: Diazinon (DZN) is an organophosphate that inhibits of acetylcolinesterase activity byphosphorylating of active site, in which could be resulted in damages of germinal cells andreproductive functions. Since this compound is extensively using in the agriculture, especially in thenorthern regions of Iran in order to control of pests, the present study was performed to investigate theinfluence of DZN on spermatogenesis in mice.Materials and Methods: Male mice were divided into three experimental, sham and controlgroups. The animals in the experimental group were injected with the consecutive doses of DZN(30mg/kg i.p, five consecutive days per week for one month). The sham mice were received onlywater injection and no injection was performed on animals in the control group. Animals werescarified 35 days after the latest injection of DZN. Then, the mice testis sections were prepared andmorphologic aspects of testis and spermatogenesis processes assessed.Results: The DZN showed a significant decrease in number of germ cells, spermatocytes,spermatids, Leydig cells, blood vessels. In addition, the diameter of seminiferous in the testis of themice decreased.Conclusion: The current finding showed that Diazinon is an environmental factor that can causetoxic effects on the morphologic parameters of germ cells. These results suggested that the DZN mightbe a factor that results in infertility in mice