International Journal of Fertility and Sterility (Jul 2024)
The Effects of Endometrial Mesenchymal Stem Cells on The In Vitro Maturation of Germinal Vesicle Oocytes in Hanging Drop and Sodium Alginate Hydrogel Co-Culture Systems
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the co-culture effects of human endometrial mesenchymal stemcells (EnMSCs) with mouse oocytes to enhance their maturation and development by using the hanging drop andsodium alginate hydrogel methods.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, we prepared human EnMSCs (2.5×105 cells/mL) and co-culturedthem with partially denuded mouse oocytes by the hanging drop (n=120) and sodium alginate hydrogel (n=120) methods.Control oocytes (n=230, total) were cultured in both systems in the absence of human EnMSCs for 18 hours. Both survivaland maturation rates of the oocytes were analysed morphologically. After insemination with capacitated sperm, thefertilizationand development of the embryos up to the blastocyst stage were assessed and compared statistically for all ofthe study groups via one-way ANOVA and the t tests.Results: Oocytes cultured in the hanging drop method had a significantly higher survival rate than their control group(92.60 ± 4.36% vs. 84.20 ± 3.12%, P=0.018). There were no significant differences between the two experimentalgroups in terms of survival. The mean percent of oocytes that reached the metaphase II (MII) stage was 64.35 ± 3.19%and fertilised was 62.25 ± 4.43% in the hanging drop method; these rates were 63.43 ± 1.92% and 58.14 ± 4.14 insodium alginate hydrogel method, respectively. These rates were higher than their controls (P0.050). Among the studied groups, the highest significantblastocyst rate (32.55 ± 2.18%) was observed in the hanging drop experimental group (P=0.0017).Conclusion: The results of this study show that human EnMSCs improve the survival, maturation, and developmentrates of oocytes and they could have future clinical applications.
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