The rate of blastocysts production following vitrification with step-wise equilibration of immature mouse oocytes

Background: Cryopreservation and in vitro maturation (IVM) of oocyte is becoming an important technique in infertility treatment and fertility preservation. Also it has been proposed to establish a genetic resource bank for endangered or commercially important animal species.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate viability, maturation and fertilization rate of mouse immature oocytes after single and stepwise vitrification procedure.
Materials and Methods: Oocytes were obtained from 4 weeks old female mice 48h after intraperitoneal injection of 7.5 IU pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG). Collected oocytes before vitrification were exposed to cryoprotectant, which was composed of 30% (v/v) ethylene glycol, 18% (w/v) Ficoll-70, and 0.3 M sucrose, either by single step or in a step-wise way. After vitrification and storage in liquid nitrogen, the oocytes were warmed and washed two times in medium TCM199 and then subjected to IVM, fertilization and subsequent development to blastocysts.
Results: The oocytes survival rates after vitrifying-warming (88.96%), maturation rate (73.23%), the capacity of fertilization (57.80%) and embryonic development to blastocyst (16.41%) in the step-wise exposure were significantly higher (p<0.001) compared with corresponding rate in the single step procedure.
Conclusion: The results suggest that vitrification with step-wise procedure has positive effects on maturation and developmental capacity of mice germinal vesicle oocytes in compare with single step vitrification procedure.