Journal
CRYOBIOLOGY
Volume 71, Issue 2, Pages 350-355Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2015.08.012
Keywords
Zona pellucida; Oocyte; Cryopreservation; Vitrification; AFM
Categories
Funding
- NIH [R01EB012108]
- NSF [CBET-1154965]
- Directorate For Engineering
- Div Of Chem, Bioeng, Env, & Transp Sys [1154965] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Mammalian oocytes have a proteinaceous hydrogel-like outer shell known as the zona pellucida (ZP) that semi-encloses their plasma membrane and cytoplasm. In this study, we cryopreserved mouse oocytes either with or without ZP by vitrification. Our results show that the presence of an intact ZP could significantly improve the post-vitrification survival of oocytes to 92.1% from 13.3% for oocytes without ZP. Moreover, there was no significant difference in embryonic development between fresh and cryopreserved oocytes with ZP after in vitro fertilization (IVF). Further atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed that the intact oocytes with ZP have an elastic modulus that is more than 85 times higher than that of oocytes without ZP. This may partially explain the important role of ZP in protecting the oocytes by resisting the mechanical stress due to possible ice formation during cryopreservation by vitrification. Collectively, this study reveals a new biophysical role of ZP during vitrification of oocytes and suggests microencapsulation of the many mammalian cells without a ZP in ZP-like hydrogel is an effective strategy to improve their survival post cryopreservation by vitrification. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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