Hirakawa Toyofumi, Nakabayashi Kazuhiko, Ito Noriko, Ishiwata Keisuke, Urushiyama Daichi, Miyata Kohei, Baba Tsukasa, Hata Kenichiro, Yasunaga Shin'ichiro, Yotsumoto Fusanori, Tachibana Katsuro, Miyamoto Shingo
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka 8140180, Japan.
Department of Maternal-Fetal Biology, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo 1578535, Japan.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2025 Jun 4;14(6):684. doi: 10.3390/antiox14060684.
Oxidative stress induced by in vitro culture conditions impedes the differentiation of fertilized zygotes. Gasotransmitters containing carbon monoxide (CO) exhibit antioxidant properties when exogenously administered at appropriate concentrations. In this study, CO was incorporated into ultrafine bubbles (UFBs) to devise an innovative method for promoting the efficient differentiation of fertilized mouse zygotes into blastocysts within an in vitro culture environment. While CO typically dissipates rapidly in culture media, its encapsulation into UFBs enabled its prolonged retention within the medium. Fertilized mouse zygotes cultured in the UFB medium exhibited a significantly higher rate of blastocyst hatching compared to those cultured in conventional media. Furthermore, Gene Ontology analysis revealed elevated expression of mitochondrial-related genes and genes essential for blastocyst maturation in the UFB culture medium. These findings underscore the potential of CO-UFB as a potent agent for improving in vitro blastocyst formation and hatching by mitigating oxidative stress, thereby offering a promising strategy for enhancing assisted reproductive technologies.
体外培养条件诱导的氧化应激会阻碍受精卵的分化。含一氧化碳（CO）的气体递质在以适当浓度外源给药时具有抗氧化特性。在本研究中，将CO掺入超细气泡（UFBs）中，设计出一种创新方法，以促进体外培养环境中受精小鼠受精卵高效分化为囊胚。虽然CO通常在培养基中迅速消散，但将其封装到UFBs中可使其在培养基中长时间保留。与在传统培养基中培养的受精卵相比，在UFB培养基中培养的受精小鼠受精卵表现出显著更高的囊胚孵化率。此外，基因本体分析显示，UFB培养基中线粒体相关基因和囊胚成熟所必需的基因表达上调。这些发现强调了CO-UFB作为一种有效试剂的潜力，可通过减轻氧化应激来改善体外囊胚形成和孵化，从而为增强辅助生殖技术提供了一种有前景的策略。
