The developmental competence of human metaphase I oocytes with delayed maturation in vitro

Objective: To evaluate whether metaphase I (MI) oocytes completing maturation in vitro to metaphase II (MI-MII oocytes) have similar developmental competence as the sibling metaphase II (MII) oocytes that reached maturity in vivo.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Setting: Academic medical center.Patient(s): A total of 1,124 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles from 800 patients at a single academic center between April 2016 and December 2020 with at least 1 MII oocyte immediately after retrieval and at least 1 sibling MI-MII oocytethat was retrieved as MI and matured to MII in culture before ICSI were included in the study. Intervention(s): None.Main Outcome Measure(s): A total of 7,865 MII and 2,369 sibling MI-MII oocytes retrieved from the same individuals were compared for the fertilization and blastocyst formation rates. For patients who underwent single euploid blastocyst transfers (n 1/4 406), the clinical pregnancy, spontaneous pregnancy loss, and live birth rates were compared between the 2 groups.Result(s): The fertilization rate was significantly higher in MII oocytes than in delayed matured MI-MII oocytes (75.9% vs. 56.1%). Similarly, the blastocyst formation rate was higher in embryos derived from MII oocytes than in those from MI-MII oocytes (53.8% vs. 23.9%). The percentage of euploid embryos derived from MII oocytes was significantly higher than that of those from MI-MII oocytes (49.2% vs. 34.7%). Paired comparison of sibling oocytes within the same cycle showed higher developmental competence of the MII oocytes than that of MI-MII oocytes. However, the pregnancy, spontaneous pregnancy loss, and live birth rates after a single euploid blastocyst transfer showed no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (MII vs. MI-MII group, 65.7% vs. 74.1%, 6.4% vs. 5.0%, and 61.5% vs. 70.0%, respectively).Conclusion(s): Compared with oocytes that matured in vivo and were retrieved as MII, the oocytes that were retrieved as MI and matured to MII in vitro before ICSI showed lower developmental competence, including lower fertilization, blastocyst formation, and euploidy rates. However, euploid blastocysts from either cohort resulted in similar live birth rates, indicating that the MI oocytes with delayed maturation can still be useful even though the overall developmental competence was lower than that of their in vivo matured counterparts. (Fertil Sterile 2023;119:690-6.(c) 2022 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)

Automated summary

This study compared the developmental competence of oocytes that matured in vivo to metaphase II (MII) with those that matured in vitro from metaphase I (MI). The results showed that MII oocytes had higher fertilization rates, blastocyst formation rates, and euploidy rates compared with MI-MII oocytes. However, there was no significant difference in clinical pregnancy rates, spontaneous pregnancy loss rates, and live birth rates between the two groups after single euploid blastocyst transfers.