Effects of activation with a Ca ionophore and roscovitine on the development of human oocytes that failed to fertilize after ICSI.

OBJECTIVE: The effects of oocyte activation with a Ca ionophore and roscovitine (Ca+R), a selective inhibitor of M-phase promoting factor, on unfertilized oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) or testicular sperm extraction (TESE)-ICSI were evaluated. METHOD: Oocytes without pronuclei at 18 hours after ICSI were judged to be unfertilized and were exposed to the Ca ionophore A23187 (5 ?M) with or without roscovitine (50 ?M). The activation rate was measured 3, 7, and 18 hours later. Oocytes with two polar bodies and two pronuclei with a sperm tail were judged to have been activated. RESULTS: At 18 hours, the activation rates in the control, Ca ionophore, and Ca+R groups were 3.5% (4/112), 26.9% (7/26), and 32.1% (17/53), respectively. The activation rate of the Ca+R group was significantly higher than that of the control and similar to that of the Ca ionophore group. Among the oocytes that remained unfertilized after TESE-ICSI, the activation rates of the Ca ionophore and Ca+R groups were 22.2% (2/9) and 43.8% (7/16), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sequential treatment with an Ca ionophore and roscovitine activates oocytes that remain unfertilized after ICSI. In TESE-ICSI, the activation rate tended to be increased by the co-administration of roscovitine with a Ca ionophore. J. Med. Invest. 70 : 321-324, August, 2023.

Effect of semen characteristics on pregnancy rate following intrauterine insemination.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of semen characteristics on the success of intrauterine insemination (IUI). DESIGN: A retrospective study. SETTINGS: The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tokushima University Hospital, Japan. PATIENTS: Between 2004 and 2008, 1,177 IUI cycles in 283 couples were studied. INTERVENTION: IUI cycles were preceded with ovarian stimulation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Clinical pregnancy. RESULT: A total of 82 clinical pregnancies were obtained (7.0% pregnancy rate per cycle, 28.9% per case). Their subsequent outcomes of pregnancies were 18 miscarriages (21.9%), 2 ectopic pregnancies (2.4%) and 60 live births (73.2%). Of the 82 clinical pregnancies, 2 were twin pregnancies (2.4%). There was no triple or higher order multiple pregnancies. At the end of the sixth cycle, 73 clinical pregnancies had been achieved (89.0%). After diagnostic laparoscopy, the pregnancy rate per cycle for patients ≤ 35 years age was 18%, which is significantly higher than that of patients >35 years of age. Pregnancies occurred up to the fifth cycle after laparoscopy. The pregnancy rate (PR) per cycle was significantly higher in cases of sperm movement rates more than 30% (PR 9.3%) and total motile sperm counts more than 10 × 10(6)/ml (PR 8.2%). A study comparing the washed and unwashed cases did not reveal any differences. CONCLUSION: In male sub-fertility cases of sperm parameters as motility rates ≥ 30% and motile sperm concentration ≥ 10 × 10(6)/ml, IUI could be a useful option for infertility treatment.