Supplementation of human embryo media
Despite advances in medically assisted reproduction, pregnancy rates per initiated cycle remain limited, motivating the development of dynamic, mechanism-based approaches to investigate early human embryonic development. Here, we show that embryos reaching the blastocyst stage by day 4 have higher developmental competence and pregnancy potential than slower counterparts, establishing early blastulation as a simple, clinically actionable marker of embryo fitness. To functionally test whether developmental tempo can be modulated, we developed a human-embryo framework in which embryos are exposed to defined signaling modulators and assessed by standardized morphokinetics and lineage-resolved immunofluorescence. Within this framework, four cytokines/hormones, including PDGFa in GTL medium, promoted earlier and more frequent blastocyst formation while preserving the orderly sequence of lineage specification. Together, these findings provide a scalable strategy to interrogate developmental signaling in human embryos and offer a rational basis for optimizing culture media to enhance embryonic competence beyond current selection-only approaches.
Despite advances in medically assisted reproduction, pregnancy rates per initiated cycle remain limited, motivating the development of dynamic, mechanism-based approaches to investigate early human embryonic development. Here, we show that embryos reaching the blastocyst stage by day 4 have higher developmental competence and pregnancy potential than slower counterparts, establishing early blastulation as a simple, clinically actionable marker of embryo fitness. To functionally test whether developmental tempo can be modulated, we developed a human-embryo framework in which embryos are exposed to defined signaling modulators and assessed by standardized morphokinetics and lineage-resolved immunofluorescence. Within this framework, four cytokines/hormones, including PDGFa in GTL medium, promoted earlier and more frequent blastocyst formation while preserving the orderly sequence of lineage specification. Together, these findings provide a scalable strategy to interrogate developmental signaling in human embryos and offer a rational basis for optimizing culture media to enhance embryonic competence beyond current selection-only approaches.