Abstract
Ethylene glycol (EG) has been successfully used as a cryoprotectant for vitrification of mammalian embryos (including human embryos) due to its low formula weight and high permeation into cells compared with other cryoprotectants, including propylene glycol (PROH). Cryopreservation is able to store the surplus pre-embryos for freezing and furthermore thawing and transfer in a subsequent cycle. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of embryonic stage, cryoprotectant, and freezing-thawing method on the rates of survival and development of the cryopreserved mouse early embryo and finally to establish the cryopreservation method of surplus embryos obtained during assisted reproductive technology (ART). Female ICR mice (6~8 weeks old) were induced to superovulate by sequential intraperitoneal injection of 5 IU PMSG and 5 IU hCG 48 h apart. Mouse embryos were collected according to its developmental stage after the injection of hCG. Embryos were cryopreserved not only during cryoprotectant step (1~4 step) but also in a variety of media (HTF, IVF medium, D-PBS) and cell stage. The results were as follows : There is no clear advantage in these freezing media of rapid method, but 4 cell and 8 cell of slow method (2, 3 and 4 step) have advantage in D-PBS. The development of embryos according to cell stage become greater in 8 cell stage. In the treatment steps of cryopreservation, the development of embryo to blastocyst was similar among rapid method, but the development of 4 cell and 8 cell embryos to blastocyst according to slow method was better than rapid method.
생쥐 2세포기, 4세포기, 8세포기를 각 발생 단계에서 채취하여 동결 보호제를 첨가한 서로 다른 배양액에서 배양하고, 배아의 동결 보존 및 융해 시 급속 처리와 저속 처리 단계로 비교하여 이들 조건이 배아의 생존과 발현에 미치는 영향을 조사하여 다음의 결과를 얻었다. 동결 보호제로 처리하여 배양액을 달리한 경우, 급속 단계에서는 모든 배양액에서 비슷한 발생율을 보였고, 저속단계의 4세포기와 8세포기는 D-PBS에서 높은 발생율을 보였다(P<0.05, P<0.01). 배아의 발생 시기에 따른 동결 보존 후, 발생율은 2, 4, 8세포기로 넘어갈수록 발생율의 증가를 보여 8세포기에서 발생율이 가장 높았다(P<0.01). 동결 보호제의 처리단계에 따른 발생율은 2세포기의 급속 단계에서는 유사하였으나, 4세포기와 8세포기는 저속단계에서 높은 발생율을 보였으며(P<0.05), 특히 8세포기에서 가장 높았다(P<0.01).