Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American University of Beirut-Medical Center, PO Box 113-6044/12 B, Beirut, Lebanon.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2010 Mar;20(3):328-34. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2009.11.020. Epub 2009 Dec 11.
Apoptosis is implicated in the fragmentation of preimplantation mammalian embryos, yet the extent of this association remains controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a known anti-apoptotic substance, to reduce the fragmentation rate of human preimplantation embryos when added to their culture microenvironment. Mature human oocytes were inseminated using intracytoplasmic sperm injection, incubated for 3 days and evaluated for embryo quality and fragmentation by the same embryologist. Oocytes in the study group were manipulated and cultured in culture medium supplemented with S1P to a 20 micromol/l concentration. A total of 46 patients donated 177 mature oocytes for the study group and 546 oocytes for the control group. The fertilization rate was significantly lower in the S1P-supplemented group (52.4% versus 67.3%; P=0.002) and the proportion of grade I embryos with less than 15% fragmentation was significantly higher in the same group (79.5% versus 53.9%; P<0.0001). Sphingosine-1-phosphate added to the culture medium of human preimplantation embryos is associated with a significantly lower fragmentation rate and hence better quality embryos. The clinical significance of these findings on reproductive outcome remains highly speculative awaiting further studies to translate this improvement in embryo quality into better pregnancy rates.
细胞凋亡与哺乳动物着床前胚胎的碎片化有关，但这种关联的程度仍存在争议。本研究的目的是评估鞘氨醇-1-磷酸（S1P），一种已知的抗凋亡物质，在添加到其培养微环境中时，降低人着床前胚胎碎片化率的能力。成熟的人卵通过胞浆内精子注射进行受精，培养 3 天，并由同一位胚胎学家评估胚胎质量和碎片化。研究组的卵母细胞在含有 S1P 的培养基中进行操作和培养，浓度为 20 微摩尔/升。共有 46 名患者为研究组捐赠了 177 个成熟卵母细胞，为对照组捐赠了 546 个卵母细胞。S1P 补充组的受精率明显较低（52.4%比 67.3%；P=0.002），同一组中小于 15%碎片的 I 级胚胎比例明显较高（79.5%比 53.9%；P<0.0001）。S1P 添加到人类着床前胚胎的培养基中与明显较低的碎片化率有关，从而产生更好的胚胎质量。这些发现对生殖结果的临床意义仍具有高度推测性，需要进一步的研究将胚胎质量的这种改善转化为更好的妊娠率。
