title: Addition of sphingosine-1-phosphate to human oocyte culture medium decreases embryo fragmentation.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American University of Beirut-Medical Center, PO Box 113-6044/12 B, Beirut, Lebanon. ahannoun@aub.edu.lb
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hannoun
authors.forename: Ghina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ghaziri
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu Musa
authors.forename: Tony G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Zreik
authors.forename: Fatiha
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hajameh
authors.forename: Johnny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Awwad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000187:drug effects*; D003470:Culture Media; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008246:Lysophospholipids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013110:Sphingosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D008246:Lysophospholipids; C060506:sphingosine 1-phosphate; D013110:Sphingosine