Impact of Prematuration Culture on Zygote Morphology In Vitro Maturation: An Early Clue to Embryo Competence

Abstract

Background: The study was undertaken to gain insight into the morphology of pronuclear oocytes developed through prematuration culture with cilostamide. The criteria such as position and orientation of pronuclei (PN), the size and distribution of nucleolar precursor bodies (NPB), alignment of polar body (PB), and the cytoplasmic halo have been included in the study. Objective: To elucidate the effect of cilostamide on zygote morphology in prematuration culture. Study design: A prospective analysis of pronuclear zygote morphology developed through IVM with prematuration culture using cilostamide conducted from April 2018 to March 2020. Materials and methods: The present study comprised of 57 zygotes, obtained from the in vitro matured oocytes of 63 patients aged between 25 and 35 years, who underwent controlled ovarian stimulation for IVF/ICSI. Results: In pronuclear morphology, the central juxtaposed position was higher in the experimental group (77.1%) than in the control group (54.5%). The Group 1 NPB distribution was statistically significant in the experimental group (51.4%) as compared to the control group (22.7%) ( p = 0.03). Besides, Group 3 NPBs were lower in the experimental group (11.4%) when compared to the control group (36.4%) ( p = 0.02). The α-type polar body distribution was significantly higher in the experimental group (65.7%) ( p = 0.03). Cytoplasmic halo was noted in the experimental (60%) and control (45.5%) groups ( p > 0.05). Conclusion: The results indicate that prematuration culture using cilostamide for synchronizing nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation yielded a better pronuclear zygote morphology.