The effect of conditioned media on human oocyte maturation and developmental competence Download PDF

Aim: Oocyte cytoplasmic maturation is very important during in vitro maturation (IVM) and the finding of an IVM medium that provides oocyte competence is very critical in assisted reproductive technology (ART). The aim was to determine the effects of mesenchyme stem cell conditioned media on the maturation and developmental potential of human oocyte after IVM and activation. Material and Method: 348 human germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes were collected from 191 ICSI cycles; then GV oocytes were divided into: fresh IVM (fIVM) and vitrified IVM (vIVM) which were cultivated in three maturation media: 1) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) conditioned media (CM) derived from human bone marrow, 2) human umbilical cord and 3) α-minimum essential medium (α-MEM) for 36 hr. Results: There were significant differences in maturation rate (p<0.000), arrest in 4-8 cells (0.029) and the A quality of 8-cell (0.037). The lowest maturation rate was in α-MEM vIVM and the highest was in Hu-MSCs fIVM group (71.42% vs. 85.18%, respectively).Discussion: In MSCs medium, the oocyte maturation and cleavage rate were higher in comparison with α-MEM medium. But highest oocyte development was seen in human umbilical cord MSCs medium. Probably the source of MSCs is the imperative factor to generate appropriate microenvironment consisting of essential components for inducing healthy oocyte development through paracrine mediators.