Understanding the determinants of human oocyte and embryo health

该项目将解决涉及人类卵子和胚胎如何保持其发育成健康胎儿的能力的关键问题。近年来，我们对动物卵母细胞如何生长并成为有能力的细胞的理解有了重大进展，对动物胚胎如何在培养中保持其活力的理解也有所增加。目前，关于人类卵母细胞和胚胎如何发育的信息很少。这项研究将通过扩展在动物模型中收集的信息来解决目前知识的缺乏，以确定人类卵母细胞如何与其周围细胞进行通信，以及这种通信对发育的重要性。我们还将研究发育中的胚胎如何保持其生理和代谢，并建立控制代谢平衡和生存能力之间的关系。通过分析周围的细胞和用过的培养基，可以在不干扰卵母细胞和发育中的胚胎的情况下进行本提案中概述的所有问题。因此，所有这些问题都可以非侵入性地回答。这一建议的结果将是增加对人类卵母细胞和胚胎的生理和发育如何维持的理解。然而，重要的是，这些数据将提供有关这些参数与发育能力之间关系的信息。因此，有可能建立一系列可用于预测人类胚胎发育能力的标记物。目前，在IVF周期中常规转移多个胚胎，导致多胎妊娠及其相关并发症的增加。本研究中生成的信息将提供使标记物能够用于识别队列中最有活力的胚胎的信息，如果要在IVF计划中普遍采用单胚胎移植，这是必不可少的。

This project will address key questions involving how the human egg and embryo maintain their ability to develop into a healthy fetus. In recent years there have been significant advances in our understanding of how animal oocytes grow and become competent as well as an increased understanding of how the animal embryo maintains its viability in culture. Currently there is little information as to how the human oocyte and embryo develops. This study will address the current lack of knowledge by extending the information gathered in animal models to establish how the human oocyte communicates with its surrounding cells and how this communication is important for development. We will also study how the developing embryo maintains its physiology and metabolism and the relationship between the ability to control metabolic balance and viability will be established. All of the questions outlined in this proposal can be performed without disturbing the oocyte and developing embryo by analysing the surrounding cells and the spent media. Therefore, all of these questions can be answered non-invasively. The outcome of this proposal will be an increased understanding of how the physiology and development of the human oocyte and embryo is maintained. However, importantly this data will then provide information as to the relationship of these parameters to developmental competence. Therefore, it will be possible to establish a range of markers that can be used to predict the developmental competence of a human embryo. Currently multiple embryos are routinely transferred in an IVF cycle resulting in an increase in multiple gestation pregnancies and their associated complications. The information generated in this study will provide information enabling markers to be used to identify the most viable embryo from a cohort, which is essential if single embryo transfer is to be universally adopted in an IVF program.