Cryopreservation by vitrification has been widely used in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to preserve embryos for an extended period of time. However, the effect of vitrification on development of the embryos is lacking. Therefore, understanding on vitrification effects on embryonic proteins, especially those involved in preimplantation development is crucial to provide high quality embryos for further usage. In this study, XIAP and S6K1 protein expressions following vitrification was investigated, since they have been implicated in diverse cellular processes including cell growth, migration, proliferation, differentiation, survival and development of preimplantation embryos via the PI3K pathway. Embryos were obtained from superovulated female ICR mice which were mated with fertile males. The embryos were harvested at the 2-cell stage and cultured until blastocyst stage. Blastocysts were then vitrified in ESF40 cryoprotectant. Western blot was carried out to determine the expression of XIAP and S6K1 proteins. The results showed the expression of XIAP and S6K1 significantly decreased in vitrified blastocyst compared to the control. This indicates that blastocyst vitrification may impact developmental competence through the activation of apoptotic pathways.
This study was conducted to investigate mitochondrial, nuclear chromatin and cytoskeletal organisation of vitrified embryos based on timing of the first zygotic cleavage. Embryos were retrieved from superovulated ICR mice, 28 hours after hCG injection. Two-cell stage embryos were categorised as earlycleaving (EC), while zygotes with 2-pronuclei as late-cleaving (LC) embryos. Embryos were cultured overnight in M16 medium supplemented with 3% bovine serum albumin (BSA) in carbon dioxide incubator. After 20 hours, the embryos were vitrified for one hour and warmed to room temperature. They were then fixed and immunostained to visualise distribution and intensity of mitochondria, nuclear chromatin and cytoskeleton. Finally, the embryos were mounted on glass slides and examined under a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM). Fluorescence intensities were analysed using LAS-AF-Lite Software. Results showed that EC embryos had significantly higher mitochondria (39.22 ± 12.50 versus 35.42 ± 14.61 pixel, p