【Animal Experiment】-New in vitro fertilization equipment can promote fertility treatment in mice

  In order to make in vitro fertilization more effective, researchers have developed effective techniques to screen fertilized embryos. This technique helps to better target fertilized embryos with high survival rates, increase the success rate of in vitro fertilization, and reduce surgical costs. The open microtubule device can be used for screening

  embryos, enabling researchers to choose the most viable embryos, thereby increasing the success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

  For couples who have difficulty in in vitro fertilization (IVF) with traditional methods, this is another option for starting a family. When the egg and sperm are combined in the test tube, the fertilized egg will grow into an embryo, which can be transferred to the mother and continue to grow.

  IVF has brought miracles to infertile couples. The inventor of this technology won the Nobel Prize a few years ago. However, the in vitro fertilization process is time-consuming, expensive and usually troublesome because several embryo implants are required before the mother becomes pregnant. According to data from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the average cost of IVF per round in the United States is as high as $12,000, which is difficult for many families to pay.

  In order to make in vitro fertilization more effective, researchers from Tsinghua University (National Tsinghua University) and Taiwan's National Institute of Health Research have developed effective techniques to screen fertilized embryos. This technology helps to better target fertilized embryos with high survival rates and increase the success rate of in vitro fertilization, thereby reducing surgical costs.

  Research project leader Chen Chen said: "Reducing the frequency of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, and increasing the success rate will help reduce the psychological pressure of patients." "We are very interested in the main conditions required for embryo development. Further understanding of this. Is to improve embryo culture."

  Many IVF embryos usually drop a few drops. The uterus is mixed with the solution and transplanted. The efficiency of embryo group culture is very high, but embryo implantation lacks selectivity. Laboratory technicians cannot be sure whether a single embryo in a small amount of solution will survive. Taiwanese researchers have developed a method for culturing mouse embryos on a plate equipped with open microtubes. They spread mouse embryos on the plate, so each microtube contains one or two embryos. .. Next, the researchers sealed the nozzle with grease to prevent the embryo from moving between the different microtubes, but the micropipette can still penetrate the oil film to extract the embryo and implant it into the uterus. I can do it. The microtubule structure provides a unique growth environment for each embryo, allowing researchers to determine the viability of each embryo.

  "The embryo is very sensitive to the living environment. Understanding the embryo's microenvironment can help the embryo's growth and development, and reduce the embryo's epigenetic manipulation," Chen said. I will.

  and Chen and her colleagues used high-resolution time-lapse imaging to track the development of a single mouse embryo. Chen said: "What's interesting is that even in a small environment like microtubules, embryos can successfully become embryo sacs." In addition, the time required for embryo development at the 4 and 8 cell stages is used to accurately predict embryos The possibility of developing into an embryo sac provides a simple screening method for subsequent embryo transfer. This method increasingly allows you to choose the most viable early embryo. Targeted embryo transfer reduces the time and cost of in vitro fertilization, while reducing the number of fertilized eggs used.

  Although the current research is limited to white mouse experiments, Chen and her collaborators hope that this technology will one day be used in clinical concepts. Chen said: "Once the experimental conditions are optimized according to the state of human embryos and clinically proven, the technology is expected to be used for human in vitro fertilization."