The future of the embryo can be predicted by the nature of the movement of the egg
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Immediately after fertilization, the cytoplasm of the egg starts to move, and the nature and speed of the cytoplasm can determine whether the embryo is viable.
Scientists from Cambridge University (Great Britain) report that they know how to predict the future of a fertilized egg. The method they created allows one to assess the viability of the embryo, and it is based on observing the smallest movements that occur in the egg immediately after fertilization.
Together with fellow countrymen from Oxford, researchers found that immediately after fertilization, the cytoplasm of the egg begins to pulsate rhythmically, convexity and protrusion are formed and disappear on the surface of the cell. Such movements last up to four hours, and they are associated with the activation of the actin and myosin cytoskeleton. Changes in the structure of the cytoskeleton are subject to fluctuations in the concentration of calcium ions that accompany the process of fertilization. But, more importantly, in terms of the speed and nature of such movements, it is possible to predict whether the embryo will turn out to be normal and viable or whether its development will occur with abnormalities and abnormalities.
The results of experiments researchers published in the journal Nature Communications.
The results obtained can be extremely important for in vitro fertilization (IVF), when the fusion of germ cells takes place "in vitro" and under the supervision of a doctor, and already a fertilized egg is implanted to a future mother. This process is not always successful, and doctors sometimes implant a few fertilized eggs, and for the health of the embryo is monitored by "pinching" and analyzing the cells of the developing embryo. But a few fertilized eggs can take root all at once, and this is not always safe. Similarly, it is rather difficult and risky to monitor the embryo's health with the help of a microbiopsy. This is not to mention the fact that the procedure of in vitro fertilization is not very expensive, and not everyone can afford to use it several times in a row. Therefore, a method that makes it possible to assess the future of the egg immediately after fertilization and before implantation into the uterus can greatly facilitate the life of both childless couples and specialists engaged in IVF.
However, some scientists warn against excessive optimism in connection with the results. The studies were carried out on the eggs of laboratory mice, and the human ovum can behave much more complicated and not so predictable as in genetically homogeneous laboratory animals. So it or not, future experiments will show; the group has already begun to verify its data on human cells.