Storage time does not modify the gene expression profile of cryopreserved human metaphase II oocytes

Sara Stigliani , Stefano Moretti (1) , Paola Anserini , Ida Casciano , Pier Luigi Venturini (2) , Paola Scaruffi

1 LAMSADE - Laboratoire d'analyse et modélisation de systèmes pour l'aide à la décision
2 UniGe - Università degli studi di Genova = University of Genoa

STUDY QUESTION Does storage time have any impact on the transcriptome of slowly frozen cryopreserved human metaphase II (MII) oocytes? SUMMARY ANSWER: The length of cryostorage has no effect on the gene expression profile of human MII oocytes. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Oocyte cryopreservation is a widely used technique in IVF for storage of surplus oocytes, as well as for fertility preservation (i.e. women undergoing gonadotoxic therapies) and oocyte donation programs. Although cryopreservation has negative impacts on oocyte physiology and it is associated with decrease of transcripts, no experimental data about the effect of storage time on the oocyte molecular profile are available to date. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This study included 27 women, ≤38 years aged, without any ovarian pathology, undergoing IVF treatment. Surplus MII oocytes were donated after written informed consent. A total of 31 non-cryopreserved oocytes and 68 surviving slow-frozen/rapid-thawed oocytes (32 oocytes cryostored for 3 years and 36 cryostored for 6 years) were analyzed.

Mots clés: human MII oocyte; slow freezing cryopreservation; storage time; microarray; gene expression

Domaines: Informatique [cs]

Sara Stigliani, Stefano Moretti, Paola Anserini, Ida Casciano, Pier Luigi Venturini, et al.. Storage time does not modify the gene expression profile of cryopreserved human metaphase II oocytes. Human Reproduction, 2015, 30 (11), ⟨10.1093/humrep/dev232⟩. ⟨hal-01407051⟩