Abstract
Purpose: To assess the comparative efficacy of IVF medium (MediCult, with 5.2 mM glucose) and a glucose/phosphate-free medium, P1 (Irvine Scientific), and to investigate the influence of increasing the serum supplementation (synthetic serum substitute; SSS; Irvine Scientific) to P1 on embryo development and implantation.
Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to IVF medium (Group 1, cycles n = 172) or P1 supplemented with 10% SSS (Group 2, cycles n = 229) according to the medium scheduled for use on the day of oocyte retrieval. Another 555 IVF consequent cycles (Group 3) were performed using increased SSS concentrations (20%) in P1 medium.
Results and Conclusion: In this large series of IVF cycles, we herein demonstrate that significantly higher pregnancy and implantation rates were found when embryos were cultured in glucose/phosphate-free medium P1 supplemented with 20% SSS compared to supplementation with the lower SSS concentration and with IVF medium.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Seshagiri PB, Bavister BD: Glucose and phosphate inhibit respiration and oxidative metabolism in cultured hamster eightcell embryos: Evidence for the “crabtree effect.” Mol Reprod Dev 1991;30:105-111
Bavister BD: Culture of preimplantation embryos: Facts and artifacts. Hum Reprod Update 1995;1:91-148
Barnett DK, Bavister BD: Inhibitory effect of glucose and phosphate on the second cleavage division of hamster embryos: Is it linked to metabolism? Hum Reprod 1996;11:177-183
Gardner DK, Lane M, Calderon I, Leeton J: Environment of the preimplantation human embryo in-vivo: Metabolite analysis of oviduct and uterine fluids and metabolism of cumulus cells. Fertil Steril 1996;65:349-353
Scott L, Whittingham DG: Influence of genetic background and media components on the development of mouse embryos in vitro. Mol Reprod Dev 1996;43:336-346
Lawitts JA, Biggers JD: Overcoming the 2-cell block by modifying standard components in a mouse embryo culture medium. Biol Reprod 1991;45:245-251
Conaghan J, Handyside AH, Winston RM, Leese HJ: Effects of pyruvate and glucose on the development of human preimplantation embryos in vitro. J Reprod Fertil 1993;99:87-95
Kruger TF, Stander FS, Smith K, Van der Merwe JP, Lombard CJ: The effect of serum supplementation on the cleavage of human embryos. J In Vitro Fert Embryo Transf 1987;4:10-12
Thompson JG, Gardner DK, Pugh PA, McMillan WH, Tervit HR: Lamb birth weight is affected by culture system utilized during in vitro pre-elongation development of ovine embryos. Biol Reprod 1995;53:1385-1391
Leese HJ, Donnay I, Thompson JG: Human assisted conception: A cautionary tale. Lessons from domestic animals. Hum Reprod 1998;13(Suppl. 4):184-202
Ben-Yosef D, Yogev L, Hauser R, Yavetz H, Azem F, Yovel I, Lessing JB, Amit A: Testicular sperm retrieval and cryopreservation prior to initiating ovarian stimulation as the first line approach in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia. Hum Reprod 1999;14:1794-1801
Leese HJ: The formation and function of oviduct fluid. J Reprod Fertil 1988;82:843-856
Weathersbee PS, Pool TB, Ord T: Synthetic serum substitute (SSS):Aglobulin-enriched protein supplement for human embryo culture. J Assist Reprod Genet 1995;12:354-360
Pool TB, Martin JE: High continuing pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer using medium supplemented with a plasma protein fraction containing alpha-and beta-globulins. Fertil Steril 1994;61:714-719
Maurer HR: Towards serum-free, chemically defined media for mammalian cell culture. In Animal Cell Culture: A Practical Approach, Rl Freshney (ed.), 2nd edn. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1992, pp 15-46
Quinn P, Moinipanah R, Steinberg JM, Weathersbee PS: Successful human in vitro fertilization using a modified human tubal fluid medium lacking glucose and phosphate ions. Fertil Steril 1995;63:922-924
Quinn P: Enhanced results in mouse and human embryo culture using a modified tubal fluid medium lacking glucose and phosphate. J Assist Reprod Genet 1995;12:97-105
Quinn P: Glucose and Phosphate-important or unimportant in culture media for embryos. Fertil Steril 1998;69:972 (Letters to the editor)
Coates A, Rutherford AJ, Hunter H, Leese HJ: Glucose-free medium in human in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer: A large-scale, prospective, randomized clinical trial. Fertil Steril 1999;72:229-232
Biggers JD, McGinnis LK: Evidence that glucose is not always an inhibitor of mouse preimplantation development in-vitro. Hum Reprod 2001;16:153-163
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ben-Yosef, D., Yovel, I., Schwartz, T. et al. Increasing Synthetic Serum Substitute (SSS) Concentrations in P1 Glucose/Phosphate-Free Medium Improves Implantation Rate: A Comparative Study. J Assist Reprod Genet 18, 588–592 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013156804589
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013156804589