title: Conventional freezing, straw, and open-pulled straw vitrification of mouse two pronuclear (2-PN) stage embryos.
abstract: Little is known on the cryopreservation of mouse pronuclear (PN) stage embryos. In the present experiment the mouse 2-PN stage embryos were cryopreserved by conventional freezing, straw, or open-pulled straw (OPS) vitrificaiton methods. The conventional freezing solution was 1.5 mol/L ethylene glycol (EG), and vitrification solutions were EFS30 (30% EG, Ficoll, and sucrose), EFS40 (40% EG, Ficoll, and sucrose), EDFS30 (15% EG, 15%dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO], Ficoll, and sucrose), or EDFS40 (20% EG, 20%DMSO, Ficoll, and sucrose). The blastocyst rate of 2-PN stage embryos cryopreserved by conventional method (30.4%) was lower than those vitrified by straw method with EDFS (56.9% to 69.1%), by OPS method (66.0% to 85.7%), and that of control (80.8%) (P < 0.05). With a given vitrificaiton solution EFS30, EFS40, EDFS30, or EDFS40, the blastocyst rate of embryos vitrified by the OPS method (66.7%, 66.0%, 85.7%, or 76.9%) was higher than that of those vitrified by the straw method (46.8%, 43.8%, 69.1%, or 56.9%) (P < 0.05). When mouse 2-PN-stage embryos were vitrified with EDFS30 by straw or OPS method, the highest blastocyst rate was achieved (69.1% or 85.7%) and was similar to that of the control, respectively. The embryos transfer results revealed that the full-term development of blastocysts derived from 2-PN stage embryos vitrified by OPS method with EDFS30 (19.9%) was similar to that of the control (23.5%), and higher than that of those cryopreserved by conventional freezing (9.3%) (P < 0.05). The present research demonstrates that the OPS method, especially with EDFS30, is more effective in cryopreserving mouse 2-PN embryos.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Embryonic Biotechnology, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Xue-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Guo-Bo
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.forename: Guang-Bin
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yun-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Shi-En
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000662:veterinary*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000662:veterinary*; D019855:Ethylene Glycol; D005260:Female; D005362:Ficoll; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000196:embryology*; D009028:Morula; D011247:Pregnancy; D013395:Sucrose
chemical_list: D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D005362:Ficoll; D013395:Sucrose; D019855:Ethylene Glycol; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide