Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the presence of the meiotic spindle and zona pellucida (ZP) birefringence with morphology of in vivo- and in vitro-matured human oocytes. Germinal vesicles (n�47) and MI (n�38) oocytes obtained from stimulated ovaries of patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) underwent IVM. Using a PolScope (OCTAX PolarAID; Octax, Herbon, Germany), the presence of spindles and ZP birefringence was assessed in both in vivo-matured (n�56) and IVM (n�56) oocytes. In addition, the morphology of each matured oocyte was evaluated microscopically. There were insignificant differences for ZP birefringence and meiotic spindle between the in vivo-matured and IVM MII oocytes. Subanalysis revealed that the rates of morphologically abnormal oocytes did not differ significantly between the two groups, except in the case of irregular shape (P�0.001), refractile body (P�0.001) and fragmented polar body (P�0.03), which were higher in IVM oocytes. In the case of in vivo-matured oocytes, a significantly higher percentage of oocytes with intracytoplasmic and both intra- and extracytoplasmic abnormalities have a low birefringent ZP (P�0.007 and P�0.02, respectively). There was no relationship between morphological abnormalities and spindle detection. The findings suggest that clinical IVM is a safe technology that maintains the high maturation rate and integrity of oocytes. In addition, the use of the non-invasive PolScope is recommended for the detection of oocytes most suitable for ICSI. © 2014 CSIRO.