Larman Mark G, Sheehan Courtney B, Gardner David K
Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine, 799 East Hampden Avenue, Suite 520, Englewood, CO 80113, USA.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2006 Jan;12(1):66-9. doi: 10.1016/s1472-6483(10)60982-0.
The ability to routinely cryopreserve human oocytes and embryos represents a significant advancement in the field of assisted reproductive technology. Although the method of slow freezing is commonly employed, research on the alternative technique of vitrification is promising. Vitrification involves incubation of the cell in a cryoprotectant rich solution, which permits a glass-like state to occur almost instantaneously in liquid nitrogen. A number of different techniques have been invented for holding oocytes and embryos in the cryoprotectant solution during rapid vitrification and subsequent storage. Most of these involve direct contact with liquid nitrogen. Recently, concerns have been raised regarding the sterility of such a method and the potential of viral contamination from the liquid nitrogen. The present study shows that the previously reported Cryoloop method can be used to vitrify and store embryos without direct liquid nitrogen contact (during vitrification and storage). When such vitrified embryos are warmed, they are capable of subsequent development comparable with non-vitrified embryos.
常规冷冻保存人类卵母细胞和胚胎的能力代表了辅助生殖技术领域的一项重大进步。虽然常用慢速冷冻方法，但玻璃化这一替代技术的研究很有前景。玻璃化包括将细胞置于富含冷冻保护剂的溶液中孵育，这使得在液氮中几乎瞬间形成玻璃样状态。已经发明了多种不同技术，用于在快速玻璃化及后续储存过程中将卵母细胞和胚胎置于冷冻保护剂溶液中。其中大多数技术涉及与液氮直接接触。最近，人们对这种方法的无菌性以及液氮导致病毒污染的可能性提出了担忧。本研究表明，先前报道的Cryoloop方法可用于在不与液氮直接接触的情况下（在玻璃化和储存过程中）对胚胎进行玻璃化和储存。当这些玻璃化胚胎解冻后，它们能够随后发育，与未玻璃化的胚胎相当。
