血管内皮生长因子对牛胚胎体外发育影响的最适添加浓度筛选试验

为了探明血管内皮生长因子Vascular Endothelial Growth factor,VEGF）对牛卵母细胞体外发育影响的最适添加浓度，试验中应用了人类重组VEGF165。结果表明，添加1ng/ml、2ng/ml和5ng/ml VEGF均可显著提高胚胎的卵裂率和体外发育率，但以5ng/ml VEGF处理组可以得到最高的胚胎发育至4－8细胞期的发育率，因而选择5ng/ml VEGF浓度作为以后VEGF系列试验的添加浓度。     

输卵管和颗粒细胞单层对牛体外受精胚胎发育的影响

以屠宰场牛卵巢为试验材料,研究输卵管细胞单层(OCM)和颗粒细胞单层(GCM)对牛卵母细胞体外成熟(IVM)、体外受精(IVF)和体外培养(IVC)后胚胎发育能力的影响。(1)从卵泡抽取卵丘卵母细胞复合体(COCs),并根据卵母细胞外面卵丘细胞的层数将其分为3类:1级(≥4层);2级(2～3层);3级(0～1层)。作分别在IVM和IVC培养液中添加GCM(1×106个/mL)与不添加的对比试验。结果显示:添加GCM对1级卵母细胞的卵裂率、6～8细胞发育率和囊胚率无明显影响(P>0.05);但添加GCM的2级、3级卵母细胞,受精后的卵裂率、6～8细胞发育率和囊胚率分别高于未添加组(P<0.05)。(2)所有卵母细胞(包括COCs和裸卵)被随机分为3个组,在其IVM和IVC培养液中分别添加OCM、GCM或不添加体细胞(对照组)。结果显示:OCM和GCM组的卵裂率、6～8细胞发育率和囊胚率均高于对照组(P<0.05),而两试验组之间差异不显著。     

生殖激素对奶水牛卵母细胞成熟及发育潜能的影响

本试验以屠宰场获取的奶水牛卵巢为试验材料,收集卵母细胞进行体外成熟培养(IVM)、体外受精(IVF)及早期胚胎培养(IVC)。研究激素(FSH、LH、E2、P4)的不同浓度对奶水牛卵母细胞成熟和早期胚胎发育的影响,以期探讨奶水牛卵母细胞成熟和早期胚胎体外培养发育机制,优选不同激素的最佳浓度。结果表明:添加FSH试验组奶水牛颗粒细胞扩散率和卵裂率高于未添加试验组(P<0.05);添加LH试验组奶水牛颗粒细胞扩散率、卵裂率及8-细胞率与未添加试验组比较,差异不明显(P>0.05);17β-E2试验组(1.0μg/mL)的奶水牛颗粒细胞扩散率、卵裂率及8-细胞率高于未添加试验组(P<0.05);添加P4试验各组(0.9μg/mL、1.2μg/mL)的颗粒细胞扩散率明显低于未添加试验组(P<0.01)。     

IGF-I对奶牛体外胚胎发育、ROS水平和IGF通路相关基因表达的影响

为了研究胰岛素样生长因子1(IGF-Ⅰ)对奶牛卵母细胞体外成熟和植入前胚胎发育的影响,在卵母细胞体外成熟(IVM)和胚胎体外培养(IVC)期间添加不同浓度(0、20、40、60、80 ng/m L)的IGF-Ⅰ。结果表明:与对照组相比,IVM培养液中添加60、80 ng/m L IGF-Ⅰ显著提高了卵母细胞的成熟率(75.8%、76.2%vs.62.1%);IVM和IVC培养液中添加60、80 ng/mL IGF-Ⅰ显著提高了卵裂率(59.2%、61.5%vs.40.2%)和囊胚率(28.1%、27.6%vs.18.3%)并显著降低了囊胚内ROS水平(55.2、57.1 vs.79.8)。与对照组相比,IVM和IVC培养液中添加40 ng/mL IGF-Ⅰ提高了囊胚IGFBP2基因的表达;IVM和IVC培养液中添加IGF-Ⅰ没有改变IGFBP3基因表达;IVM和IVC培养液中添加60、80 ng/mL IGF-Ⅰ提高了囊胚IGFBP6基因表达(0.36、0.39 vs.0.23)。结果提示,在IVM和IVC培养液中添加适量浓度的IGF-Ⅰ可降低胚胎内ROS水平,增加胚胎细胞内IGFBP6基因表达,提高胚胎的早期发育能力。     

表皮生长因子、巯基乙醇和亚硫磺酸对山羊体外胚胎生产的影响研究

采用抽吸法收集卵巢上的卵丘 -卵母细胞复合体 (COCs) ,微滴培养法于不同成熟培养液 (n =8)中培养 2 4～ 2 7小时后体外受精 ,然后移入不同胚胎培养液 (n =7)中培养 7天。应用胞核染色、胚胎移植等技术判定并统计成熟率、卵裂率和胚胎发育潜能。结果 :含 5 0ng/mlEGF(表皮生长因子 )组COCs成熟率 (75 4 5 %～ 75 8%)和卵裂率 (72 4 %～ 74.1%)均显著高于其它组 ,含 0 5mmol/LHTAU(亚硫磺酸 )组和或 10 0 μmol/LCYS(β -巯基乙醇 )成熟液组的≥ 8细胞率 (3 2 3 %～ 3 9 0 %)和桑胚率 (2 8 4 %～ 3 3 .8%)均显著高于其它组 (P <0 0 5 )。两只试管羊健康出生。结论 :EGF对COCs体外成熟和卵裂发育具有明显的促进作用 ;CYS对COCs体外成熟和受精卵裂无明显正作用 ,但成熟液含适量CYS有助于改善胚胎的体外发育 ,过量可能对细胞有毒 ;HTAU有益于早期胚胎的体外发育。成熟液中EGF和CYS的优选浓度分别为 5 0ng/ml和 10 0 μmol/L ;胚胎培养液中HTAU的优选浓度为 0 5mmol/L。优化体系所得胚胎具有正常的发育潜能。     

CR1aa-卵丘细胞共培养牛体外受精卵的卵裂率及囊胚率

牛卵母细胞用5％CS的TCM－199培养液体外成熟培养（IVM）22h；以BO液＋咖啡因作精子获能处理1.5h；BO液＋BSA的培养液体外受精（IVF）5h；受精卵（含卵丘细胞）用5％CS的CR1aa培养液在5％CO2、955空气、38.5℃、饱和湿度的培养环境中体外培养（IVC）7－8d，结果受精卵裂率为72.4%（56.3%－81.0%），囊胚率23.7%(12.5%-40.9%）。     

利用IVM/IVF技术生产试管犊牛的研究

本研究利用卵母细胞体外成熟(IVM)、体外受精(IVF)技术,体外生产牛胚胎,以获得试管牛。结果表明:卵母细胞体外培养22～24h后,其成熟率为85％;体外受精率为83％。体外受精卵分别在颗粒细胞单层(CCM)和输卵管细胞单层(OCM)上培养,其胚胎最后产量(以授精时卵母细胞的数目为基数)分别为19％和29％,差异极显著(P<0.01)。若体外受精卵先在CCM中培养72h后,再将已发生卵裂的(>4细胞)胚胎移到OCM中培养,其胚胎最后产量为35％。这表明:早期胚胎在其发育过程中至少存在着三个发育时期,即1—8细胞、8—16细胞和8细胞—囊胚三个阶段,各阶段需要不同的培养环境。IVM/IVF胚胎移植到受体黄牛体内后,其足月时的妊娠率为15％。     

利用IVM/IVF技术生产试管犊牛的研究

本研究利用卵母细胞体外成熟(IVM)、体外受精(IVF)技术,体外生产牛胚胎,以获得试管牛.结果表明:卵母细胞体外培养22～24h后,其成熟率为85％;体外受精率为83％.体外受精卵分别在颗粒细胞单层(GCM)和输卵管细胞单层(OCM)上培养,其胚胎最后产量(以授精时卵母细胞的数目为基数)分别为19％和29％,差异极显著(P<0.01).若体外受精卵先在GCM中培养72h后,再将已发生卵裂的(>4细胞)胚胎移到OCM中培养,其胚胎最后产量为35％.由此表明,早期胚胎在其发育过程中至少存在着3个发育相期,即1～8细胞、8～16细胞和16细胞～囊胚3个阶段,各阶段需要不同的培养环境.IVM/IVF胚胎移植到受体黄牛体内后,其足月时的妊娠率为15％.第一头试管犊牛已于1993年4月18日凌晨产出.     

牛卵泡卵母细胞体外受精和发育的研究

利用屠宰黄牛卵巢作为供试材料 ,对卵巢表面 2～8mm卵泡卵母细胞体外受精(IVF) -受精卵的体外发育 (IVD)进行了系列研究 ,采用上游法、Percoll法和本实验室沿用的直接洗涤法处理牛冻精 ,观察 3种精子处理方法处理牛冷冻精子对卵母细胞体外受精胚胎发育的影响。实验结果 ,就卵裂率指标 ,采用Percoll法处理的精子进行卵母细胞体外受精 ,和上游法及洗涤法分别比较 ,差异均不显著 (P >0 .0 5 ) ;桑囊率指标 ,只有上游法比洗涤法高 ,差异显著 (P <0 .0 5 ) ,其余差异均不显著。以FERT -TALP液作为受精液采用常规培养方法 ,精卵作用 18～ 2 0h后分开 ,与精卵作用 6～ 8h后分开卵母细胞受精后的 8-细胞发育率及桑囊率变化不大 (P >0 .0 5 ) ;卵裂率指标 ,18～ 2 0h处理组高于 6～ 8h处理组 ,但两组之间差异也不显著。表明 ,在生产中采用FERT -TALP液做为受精液 ,应用上游法处理精子 ,不需要另购试剂 ,精卵孵育时间由 18～ 2 4h缩短至 6～ 8h是可行的 ,其现实意义是可以简化胚胎体外生产的程序 ,节省人力 ,降低成本     

开放式拉长细管冷冻法对牛卵母细胞体外受精后发育的影响

在常规牛体外受精(IVF)技术的基础上,分别采用开放式拉长细管 (OPS,open pulled straw)法和细管法对未经成熟培养的卵丘卵母细胞(COCs)进行玻璃化冷冻,解冻后再进行体外成熟(IVM)、IVF和早期胚胎的体外培养(IVC)。结果表明,细管组和 OPS组的解冻后 COCs正常率分别为 59.4%±4.3%和 77.9%±4.1%(P<0 01);成熟率分别为48.2%±5.3%和66.0%±5.8%(P<0 01);卵裂率分别为18.5%±2.0%和32.8%±1.4%(P<0 01);8 细胞阶段的成功率分别为14.8%±2.5%和 24.8%±1.5%(P<0 01);桑椹胚发育率分别为 0 和5 3%±1.1%,明显低于未经冷冻的鲜卵组(21.0%±3.8%;P<0 01);囊胚发育率分别为0和4.0%,明显低于鲜卵组(P<0 01)。说明OPS玻璃化冷冻法可以使未经成熟培养的牛 COCs冷冻后获得桑椹胚和囊胚,但桑囊胚发育率仍较低,方法有待改进。     

Effect of vascular endothelial growth factor on maturation,fertilization and developmental competence of bovine oocytes

To examine the effect of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) on the maturation of bovine oocytes, human recombinant VEGF(165) was used in 3 experiments. In Exp. 1, bovine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured for 22 hr in modified Synthetic Oviduct Fluid (m-SOF) supplemented with 0 (control) or 5 ng/ml of VEGF. Maturation rate increased (P<0.05) from 78.2% in the control to 90.5% in the VEGF treated group. In Exp. 2, bovine COCs were matured in m-SOF and co-incubated with sperm in modified BO medium, each supplemented with or without 5 ng/ml VEGF. Normal fertilization rate was improved (P<0.05) from 63.0% (control) to 79.8% or 82.3% with VEGF during maturation or both maturation and fertilization. In Exp. 3, bovine COCs were matured the same way as in Exp. 1, then co-incubated with sperm for 6 hr and cultured for 162 hr in m-SOF without VEGF. Cleavage rate and development rate to the 4- to 8-cell stage were examined at 42 hr post-co-incubation and development rate to blastocyst was examined at 162 hr post-co-incubation. Cleavage, the development to the 4- to 8-cell stage and blastocyst rates (82.0%, 70.3% and 45.1%, respectively) were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the VEGF group than those in the control (67.3%, 52.5% and 33.3%, respectively). These results indicate that VEGF has a beneficial effect on the maturation of bovine oocytes.     

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promotes the early development of bovine embryo in the presence of cumulus cells

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) on bovine embryonic development in vitro. Human recombinant VEGF(165) was employed at 5 ng/ml in modified synthetic oviduct fluid. In Exp. 1, bovine cumulus oocyte complexes were matured with or without VEGF for 22 hr, inseminated without VEGF for 6 hr, then cultured with or without VEGF for 42 hr. The cleavage rate and the development rate to 4- to 8-cell were higher (P<0.05) in groups with VEGF during in vitro maturation (IVM, 71.4% and 59.6%), in vitro culture (IVC, 70.3% and 62.3%), and both IVM and IVC (75.9% and 67.8%) than in the group cultured thoroughly without VEGF (49.9% and 38.4%, respectively). In Exp. 2, 4- to 8-cell embryos produced in vitro without VEGF were removed from cumulus cells at 48 hr post-insemination (Pi) and cultured with or without VEGF for 144 hr. The development rates to blastocyst at 96 hr (D6), 120 hr (D7) and 144 hr (D8) were similar (P>0.05) in both groups. In Exp. 3, cumulus cells were removed from presumptive embryos produced by IVM and IVF without VEGF at 10 hr Pi. Denuded embryos were cultured with or without VEGF for 38 hr or 182 hr. The cleavage rate and the development rates to 4- to 8-cell at 48 hr Pi and to blastocyst on D6, D7 and D8 were similar (P>0.05) in all groups. These results suggest that VEGF has a beneficial effect on the initial development of bovine embryo through surrounding cumulus cells.     

Leptin enhances maturation and development of calf oocytes in vitro

We investigated the effects of leptin on the in vitro maturation (IVM) and development of calf oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were matured in IVM medium containing 0-100 ng/ml leptin. Experiment 1 showed that exposure of calf oocytes to IVM medium containing 1 or 10 ng/ml leptin significantly increased rates of development to the metaphase II stage compared with the control (81.7 ± 3.0% and 83.3 ± 2.1% for 1 and 10 ng/ml leptin, respectively, vs 64.1 ± 5.1% for control; p < 0.05). Experiment 2 showed that 1 or 10 ng/ml leptin significantly improved cleavage rates after in vitro fertilization when compared to control (58.6 ± 3.3% and 59.3 ± 2.9% for 1 and 10 ng/ml leptin, respectively, vs 48.5 ± 2.6% for control; p < 0.05); in addition, when compared to control medium, the addition of 10 ng/ml leptin to the IVM medium resulted in more presumptive zygotes reaching the 4- to 8-cell stage after 48 h of in vitro culture (30.3 ± 2.3% vs 20.1 ± 2.3%; p < 0.05) and developing into blastocysts after 8 days of culture (20.4 ± 1.6% vs 11.7 ± 1.7%; p < 0.05). Experiment 3 showed that the addition of 1 or 10 ng/ml leptin significantly increased the total number of blastocyst cells on day 8 of culture (114.6 ± 7.8 and 117.4 ± 5.9 for 1 and 10 ng/ml leptin, respectively, vs 92.7 ± 8.3 for control; p < 0.05) and trophectoderm (TE) cells (88.5 ± 5.5 and 90.6 ± 3.7 for 1 and 10 ng/ml leptin, respectively, vs 70.1 ± 5.9 for control; p < 0.05). In summary, these results indicate that the addition of leptin to IVM medium enhances meiotic maturation and embryo development from calf oocytes and improves the quality of embryos derived from these oocytes.     

Intracytoplasmic Glutathione Levels in Heifer Oocytes Cultured in different Maturation Media and its Effect on Embryo Development

The present study was carried out to study the effect of different maturation media on embryo development of heifer oocytes and on their glutathione (GSH) synthesis during in vitro maturation (IVM). Immature heifer oocytes were matured in parallel in one of four maturation media: (i) Tissue Culture Medium (TCM)-199 supplemented with 10 ng/ml of epidermal growth factor (EGF); (i) TCM-199 supplemented with 10 ng/ml of EGF plus 1 microg/ml of FSH; (iii) TCM-199 supplemented with 10% of foetal bovine serum (FBS) and (iv) TCM-199 supplemented with 10% of FBS plus 1 microg/ml of FSH. Cow oocytes were used as control and were matured in TCM-199 supplemented with 10 ng/ml of EGF. No differences were observed in blastocyst rate among the different heifer oocyte groups (8.8, 7.5. 8.4 and 6.8%, respectively) however, the percentage of blastocysts obtained from cow oocytes was significantly higher (30%; p < 0.01) than those obtained from heifer oocytes. De novo GSH synthesis during oocyte maturation of heifer and cow oocytes was detected. No significant differences in intracytoplasmic GSH levels were observed among the experimental heifer oocyte groups or between heifer and cow oocytes both before and after IVM. In conclusion, the blastocyst yield obtained from heifer oocytes was lower than that from cow oocytes and this fact could not be explained by significant differences in intracytoplasmic GSH contents of oocytes before or after IVM.     

表皮生长因子对水牛卵母细胞体外培养核质成熟的影响

为了探讨表皮生长因子（EGF）对水牛卵泡卵母细胞体外培养核质成熟的影响，在以TCM199为基础的成熟液中加入不同浓度的EGF（0、10、25、50、100 ng/ml），体外成熟培养24~26 h，观察第一极体（PB1）的排放；随后进行孤雌激活检测其分裂率、囊胚发育率、囊胚孵化率，并用Hoechst33342染色后计算囊胚的细胞数。结果发现添加EGF各组的卵母细胞第一极体排放率显著提高（P<0.05）；成熟液中添加25 ng/ml EGF时，卵裂率及囊胚发育率（分别为80.0%、44.8%）明显高于对照组（分别为69.3%、31.9%，P<0.05），但对囊胚的细胞数影响不大。EGF不仅促进水牛卵母细胞体外培养的核成熟，而且有利于卵母细胞的胞质成熟，其中EGF的最佳浓度为25 ng/ml。     

生长激素对体外培养猪COCs影响的研究

研究了生长激素对猪COCs体外成熟过程中卵丘细胞扩展、卵丘细胞凋亡、卵母成熟及孤雌激活后卵裂的影响。结果表明:生长激素(STH)能够促进卵丘细胞扩展,抑制卵丘细胞凋亡,对卵母细胞的成熟和激活后卵裂呈现双重效应。在猪COCs培养液中添加0.15μg/mL STH成熟率(73.83%±1.80%)和卵裂率(64.76%±2.84%)显著高于对照组(mNCSU-23+PMSG(10IU/mL)+hCG(10 IU/mL))及添加0.01、0.05、0.1、2μg/mL STH组(P<0.05),在本实验中为猪卵母细胞体外成熟的最佳条件。     

Effect of potassium simplex optimization medium and NCSU23 supplemented with beta-mercaptoethanol and amino acids of in vitro fertilized porcine embryos

The present study was conducted to examine the comparative efficacy of potassium simplex optimization medium (KSOM) and North Carolina State University (NCSU)-23 medium supplemented with beta-mercaptoethanol (beta-ME) and amino acids (AA) on the developmental competence of porcine in vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos. Four experiments were conducted. KSOM and NCSU-23 medium were used to culture porcine parthenogenetic (Exp. 1) and IVF (Exp. 2) embryos. KSOM and NCSU-23 were equally effective in supporting porcine parthenogenetic and IVF embryo development from the 1-cell stage to blastocysts. The NCSU-23 medium (Exp. 3) and KSOM (Exp. 4) were supplemented with amino acid (AA; 5 microl/ml non-essential amino acids + 10 microl/ml essential amino acids) and/or 10 microM beta-mercaptoethanol (beta-ME). The quality of blastocysts from Exp. 3 and 4 was evaluated by counting the number of total cells and determining the ratio of the inner cell mass (ICM) to trophoectoderm (TE) cells. Supplementing with AA and beta-ME or beta-ME alone in NCSU-23 produced significant (p<0.05) differences in terms of rate of cleavage to the 2- to 4- cell (80.8 to 85.4% vs. 73.6%) and blastocyst (30.4 to 30.5 vs. 23.5%) stages and the number of TE (51.4 to 53.8 vs. 35.8) and total cells (67.2 to 71.2 to 48.8) over the control group. On the other hand, supplementing KSOM with AA and/or beta-ME produced significant (p<0.05) differences in terms of rate of cleavage to the 2- to 4-cell (78.8% vs. 67.7%) and morula (57.8% vs. 46.3%) stages and the number of ICM (18.6 to 19.2 vs. 11.6) and total cells (62.8 to 70.6 vs. 42.8) over control group. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that both KSOM and NCSU-23 medium supplemented with AA and beta-ME and/or only beta-ME alone are superior to normal KSOM and NCSU-23 for porcine IVF embryo culture in terms of embryo developmental competence and quality.     

Effects of ghrelin on in vitro development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of addition of ghrelin to in vitro culture medium on preimplantation development of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos. In Experiment 1, we sought to compare the in vitro developmental competence of IVF and parthenogenetic embryos. No significant (P<0.05) differences were detected for cleavage rate or blastocyst rate between the in vitro fertilization (IVF)- and parthenogenetic activation-derived embryos. In Experiment 2, parthenogenetic embryos were cultured in Porcine Zygote Medium-3 containing various concentrations of ghrelin. The blastocyst rate was remarkably (P<0.05) increased when 5 ng/ml (PA-5) and 500 ng/ml (PA-500) of ghrelin was added to in vitro culture medium compared with the other groups. Total cell number per blastocyst was slightly promoted in the ghrelin treatment groups compared with the controls. However, the ratio of inner cell mass (ICM) cell number/total cell number was significantly reduced in the PA-50 group compared with the controls (P<0.05). In Experiment 3, we cultured in vitro fertilized embryos in Porcine Zygote Medium-3 supplemented with ghrelin at different dosages. The rate of blastocyst formation was markedly (P<0.05) elevated when 500 ng/ml ghrelin was added to culture medium (IVF-500) compared with the controls. Increased total cell numbers (P<0.05) were observed when in vitro fertilized embryos were cultured in IVF-50 and IVF-500 compared with the controls. However, the ratio of ICM cell number/total cell number was decreased in the ghrelin treatment groups compared with the controls (P<0.05). Taken together, the results suggest that ghrelin can enhance blastocyst formation of porcine in vitro fertilized and parthenogenetic embryos while exerting a negative effect on the structural integrity of the blastocysts.     

Effects of Increased Ambient Temperature During IVM and/or IVF on the In Vitro Development of Bovine Zygotes

Previous research by this group (2003) has demonstrated that heat stress during in vitro culture (IVC) significantly increased early embryo mortality. The experiments reported here examine the effects of heat treatment (HT) during in vitro maturation (IVM) and during in vitro fertilization (IVF). One 24 h cycle of HT entailed a series of 0.5 degrees C incubator temperature increases from 39 degrees C to 39.5 degrees C for 2 h, to 40 degrees C for 2 h, to 40.5 degrees C for 4 h, 41 degrees C for 4 h, 40.5 degrees C for 6 h and 40 degrees C for 6 h. This cycle mimics rectal temperatures recorded in high producing, grain fed dairy cows in hot climates. Experiment I studied the effects of one cycle of heat-treatment during IVF on the rate of cleavage of in vitro matured presumptive zygotes. Total cleavage rate in the HT group (37.8%) was lower than that of the control group (54.6%, p < 0.05). Experiment II repeated the HT of experiment I but preceded it with a cycle of HT during IVM. The total cleavage rates for control and heat treatment groups were 75.5% and 37.9%, respectively, with a significant difference of p < 0.001 identified. Experiment III examined the rates of embryonic development to >or=8-cell stage (after 72 h IVC) and to morula or blastocyst (M/B) stage (after 144 h IVC) following HT of the oocyte groups during the preceding IVM or IVF. Rates of development to >or=8-cell stage (at 72 h IVC) and to M/B stage (after 144 h IVC) for the control group were 27.5% and 35.8%. Those of IVM-only HT and IVF-only HT groups were 13.8% and 14.6%, and 8.6% and 14.3%, respectively. Both groups of heat treated embryos developed at significantly lower rates (p < 0.05) than did the control group. These results suggest that hyperthermia during oocyte maturation and/or fertilization adversely affects oocyte maturation and fertilization rates and retards further embryonic development.