Department of Embryology, Institute of Developmental Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Medical University of Bialystok, Białystok, Poland.
Reproduction. 2024 Mar 19;167(4). doi: 10.1530/REP-23-0281. Print 2024 Apr 1.
Optical coherence microscopy non-invasively visualizes metaphase II spindles allowing for quantitative analysis of their volume and shape, which may prove useful in the assessment of the oocyte quality. Using a mouse model, we showed also that analysis of spindle length combined with morphokinetics improves the evaluation of the resulting embryos.
The proper development of embryos strongly depends on the quality of oocytes, so the evaluation of oocytes may be a useful initial step in IVF procedures. Additionally, it enables embryologists to make more informed decisions regarding the treatments chosen for the patients and better manage patients' expectations. Optical coherence microscopy (OCM) allows for non-invasive 3D visualization of intracellular structures, such as spindles or nuclei, which have been linked to the success of embryonic development. Here, we applied a mouse model to examine whether OCM imaging could be used in the quality assessment of metaphase II (MII) oocytes. We showed that quantitative parameters describing the shape and volume of the MII spindle were associated with the quality of the resulting embryos, including the likelihood of blastocyst formation and the embryos' ability to differentiate the trophectoderm and primitive endoderm, but not the epiblast. We also created a multivariate linear regression model, combining OCM-based quantification of MII spindles with morphokinetic analysis of the embryos, that allowed for improved evaluation of the embryo quality. Finally, we proved that OCM does not interfere with the viability of the scanned cells, at least during the preimplantation development. Therefore, we believe that OCM-based quantitative assessment of MII spindles can improve the oocyte and embryo selection in IVF procedures.
光学相干显微镜可无创可视化中期 II 期纺锤体，从而可以对其体积和形状进行定量分析，这可能有助于评估卵母细胞的质量。使用小鼠模型，我们还表明，分析纺锤体长度与形态动力学相结合可以提高对胚胎的评估。
胚胎的正常发育强烈依赖于卵母细胞的质量，因此对卵母细胞的评估可能是体外受精（IVF）程序的一个有用的初始步骤。此外，它使胚胎学家能够就选择的治疗方案为患者做出更明智的决策，并更好地管理患者的期望。光学相干显微镜（OCM）允许对细胞内结构（如纺锤体或核）进行非侵入性的 3D 可视化，这些结构与胚胎发育的成功有关。在这里，我们应用小鼠模型来研究 OCM 成像是否可用于评估中期 II（MII）卵母细胞的质量。我们表明，描述 MII 纺锤体形状和体积的定量参数与胚胎质量相关，包括囊胚形成的可能性以及胚胎分化滋养外胚层和原始内胚层的能力，但不包括上胚层。我们还创建了一个多元线性回归模型，将基于 OCM 的 MII 纺锤体定量分析与胚胎形态动力学分析相结合，从而可以更好地评估胚胎质量。最后，我们证明 OCM 不会干扰扫描细胞的活力，至少在植入前发育过程中不会。因此，我们认为基于 OCM 的 MII 纺锤体定量评估可以提高 IVF 程序中的卵母细胞和胚胎选择。
