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Birth of nine normal healthy babies following transfer of blastocysts derived from human single-pronucleate zygotes

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the clinical outcomes of blastocysts derived from human single-pronucleate (1PN) embryos after conventional in vitro fertilization (cIVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.

Methods

This was a retrospective study at a reproductive center of a hospital. To evaluate embryo quality and clinical outcomes, cIVF or ICSI cycles with one or more 1PN embryos were compared with same cycles with 2PN embryos (control cycles).

Results

A total of 623 cycles (426 cIVF cycles and 197 ICSI cycles) were treated with cIVF or ICSI. The single pronuclear status rate was similar between cIVF (22.1 %) and ICSI (25.1 %) cycles. Although the development rates of 1PN embryos on day 3 and day 5/6 in cIVF were significantly higher than those in ICSI, those of 1PN embryos in cIVF were significantly lower compared to 2PN embryos (p < 0.01). Nonetheless, the ongoing pregnancy rates achieved with 1PN blastocysts in 1PN embryos did not significantly differ from the control group. Thirty-three transfer cycles with 33 blastocysts derived from 1PN embryos in cIVF resulted in nine deliveries with no newborn malformations; however, no implantation was observed in three ICSI cycles.

Conclusion

Although the blastocyst formation rate of 1PN embryos was significantly lower than 2PN embryos in cIVF and ICSI cycles, 1PN blastocysts in cIVF, and not from ICSI, demonstrated an adequate ongoing pregnancy rate. These results suggested that 1PN blastocysts in cIVF are available for clinical use and may lead to an increase in the chance of pregnancy in patients receiving assisted reproductive technology with 1PN embryos.

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Abbreviations

ART:

Assisted reproductive technology

IVF:

In vitro fertilization

ICSI:

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection

F-TBT:

Frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer

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Acknowledgments

We thank the embryology staff of the Angel Bell Hospital for their assistance in preparing this manuscript and their expert technical help. We are also grateful to Dr. Koji Komatsu for critically reading this manuscript.

Ethics statement

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of KISHOKAI Medical Corporation and was conducted in accordance with the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent for their treatment and for their outcomes to be described was obtained from all patients.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

FI conceived and designed the study, carried out the experiments, acquired the data, performed the statistical analysis, and drafted the manuscript. YA carried out the experiments, acquired the data, and helped draft the manuscript. MS carried out the experiments, acquired the data, and helped draft the manuscript. HH performed the statistical analysis and helped draft the manuscript. YM conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infertility, Green Bell Clinic, Kitamachi 2-160, Toyota, Aichi, 471-0027, Japan

    Fumiaki Itoi

  2. Department of Infertility, Royal Bell Clinic, Mizuhiro 1-17-15, Narumicho, Midori-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 458-0801, Japan

    Yukiko Asano

  3. Department of Infertility, Angel Bell Hospital, Nishiki-cho 5-1, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-0067, Japan

    Fumiaki Itoi, Masashi Shimizu & Yasutaka Murata

  4. Sapporo ART Clinic, Kita7jonishi 4-1-2, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0807, Japan

    Hiroyuki Honnma

Authors
  1. Fumiaki Itoi
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  2. Yukiko Asano
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  3. Masashi Shimizu
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  4. Hiroyuki Honnma
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  5. Yasutaka Murata
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fumiaki Itoi.

Additional information

Capsule It may be possible to expect an adequate ongoing pregnancy rate after blastocyst transfer derived from 1PN zygotes in cIVF cycles but not in ICSI cycles.

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Itoi, F., Asano, Y., Shimizu, M. et al. Birth of nine normal healthy babies following transfer of blastocysts derived from human single-pronucleate zygotes. J Assist Reprod Genet 32, 1401–1407 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-015-0518-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-015-0518-y

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