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Effects of different oocyte cytoplasmic granulation patterns on embryo development and euploidy: a sibling oocyte control study

  • Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study evaluated the relationship between cytoplasmic granulation patterns and the developmental potential of mature sibling oocytes.

Methods

Data from 54 cycles of preimplantation genetic tests for structural rearrangement from July 2019 to June 2022 were analyzed. In total, 564 embryos were cultured using a time-lapse system. Sibling oocytes were divided into four groups based on cytoplasmic granulation patterns: fine granulation (FG) group (n = 177), central granulation (CG) group (n = 183), dispersed granulation (DG) group (n = 161), and uneven granulation (UG) group (n = 43). The CG group was further divided into three groups (grades I, II, and III) based on the tertile of the ratio of central granular distribution area to oocyte area. Fertilization rate, embryo morphokinetics, chromosomal ploidy, and clinical outcomes of the groups were compared.

Results

No significant differences were observed in morphokinetic parameters, fertilization rate, embryo production, blastocyst formation, and aneuploidy rates among the different cytoplasmic-granulation pattern groups. However, embryos derived from CG oocytes showed significantly higher aneuploidy rates in grade III compared to grade I (86.21% vs 61.54%, P = 0.036) or grade II (86.21% vs 56.00%, P = 0.013). Thirty embryos were transferred to the uteri of female patients and the clinical pregnancy and live birth rates did not significantly differ among groups.

Conclusions

Cytoplasmic granulation patterns may not affect embryo fertilization, development speed, and aneuploidy rates. However, a higher grade of CG may be associated with increased aneuploidy rates. Larger sample sizes are required to explore the impact of oocyte cytoplasmic granulation patterns on embryo implantation potential.

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Data availability

The data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Guangdong Special Support Program (2019BT02Y276), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81771579), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515010377), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (32000589). The authors thank Taylor and Francis Editing Services for English language editing.

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Guangdong Special Support Program (2019BT02Y276), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81771579), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515010377), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (32000589).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reproductive Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Yali Wang, Dongjia Chen, Bing Cai, Dan Huang, Yanwen Xu & Chenhui Ding

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Guangzhou, 510080, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Yali Wang, Dongjia Chen, Bing Cai, Dan Huang, Yanwen Xu & Chenhui Ding

Authors
  1. Yali Wang
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  2. Dongjia Chen
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  3. Bing Cai
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  4. Dan Huang
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  5. Yanwen Xu
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  6. Chenhui Ding
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Contributions

YW: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Project Administration, Resources, Writing–Review and Editing; DC: Data Curation, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Writing–Original Draft Preparation; BC: Writing–Review and Editing; DH: Data Curation, Formal Analysis; YX: Supervision; CD: Supervision, Writing–Review and Editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chenhui Ding.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (reference no. [2022] 566, date of approval 27th December 2022). Owing to the retrospective nature of this study, the requirement for informed consent was waived.

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Wang, Y., Chen, D., Cai, B. et al. Effects of different oocyte cytoplasmic granulation patterns on embryo development and euploidy: a sibling oocyte control study. Arch Gynecol Obstet 308, 1593–1603 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-07176-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-07176-5

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