ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between the first polar body (1st PB) morphology and the fertilization rate, cleavage rate, embryo quality, pregnancy and implantation rate. METHODS: This was a retrospective study on 167 consecutive cycles undergoing assisted reproduction with ICSI. The 1st PB morphology was evaluated at the moment of ICSI in the 596 injected oocytes and it was coded as intact or fragmented. The fertilization rate, cleavage rate, embryo quality (three grades), pregnancy rate, implantation rate and the time elapsed between oocyte retrieval and ICSI were evaluated. The 1st PB morphology was checked twice (denudation and ICSI) in a random sample of 180 oocytes in order to verify the effect of the in vitro culture. RESULTS: No significant relationship was found between the 1st PB morphology and the fertilization rate (P=0.703), cleavage rate (P=0.055), embryo quality (P=0.673), pregnancy rate (P=0.201) and implantation rate (P=0.511). A significant positive relationship (P=0.006) was found between the frequency of the 1st PB fragmentation and the time elapsed between denudation and ICSI. The pregnancy rate was significantly higher (P=0.008) when oocytes were injected between 5 and 7 h after retrieval rather than earlier or later. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the embryo quality, pregnancy rate and implantation rate are not related to the 1st PB fragmentation. The time which elapses between the oocyte retrieval and ICSI should be maintained at approximately 6 h in order to obtain optimal results.
Subject(s)
Embryo, Mammalian/physiology , Oocytes/ultrastructure , Pregnancy Rate , Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic , Cleavage Stage, Ovum , Embryo Implantation , Female , Fertilization , Humans , Male , Oogenesis , Pregnancy , Retrospective Studies , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The ultrastructural study carried out in a case of tonsillar malakoplakia confirmed that granulomatous lesions consisted mainly of macrophages containing peculiar calcified inclusions (Michaelis-Gutmann bodies) considered pathognomonic for the disease. Moreover macrophages frequently contained ingested Gram-negative bacilli and presented aspects of mitochondrial degeneration and autophagy. These latter features were probably the consequence of bacterial infection rather than the expression of primary cellular defects, as the clinical evolution of this case of malakoplakia did not support the existence of generalized macrophage alterations.
