Clinical and morphokinetic factors associated with partial embryo compaction in Time-lapse culture
Main Article Content
Abstract
To determine the incidence and factors affecting the proportion of partial embryo compaction, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 600 embryos from 97 IVF/ICSI cycles using time-lapse culture. The results showed that partial compaction accounted for 59.5% of embryos exhibiting compaction. Patients' clinical characteristics were not independently associated with the rate of incomplete compaction. Early cleavage abnormalities were found to be a major risk factor, increasing the risk of partial compaction due to cell exclusion (18.09-fold), cell extrusion (4.01-fold), and combination of both types (19.36-fold). A high cell count at 68 hours, late onset of compaction, and a high amount of cytoplasmic fragmentation increased the risk of partial compaction; conversely, a higher cell count at the start of compaction reduced this risk. In conclusion, partial compaction is a common phenomenon, primarily governed by intrinsic embryo factors (cleavage abnormalities, morphokinetic disturbances) rather than clinical characteristics.
Article Details
Keywords
Partially compacted morulae, partial compaction with cell exclusion, partial compaction with cell extrusion
References
2. Leese HJ. Metabolism of the preimplantation embryo: 40 years on. Reproduction. 2012; 143(4): 417-427. doi:10.1530/REP-11-0484.
3. Garg A, Valera MÁ, Meseguer M. Evaluation of Embryo Quality. In: Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques. 6th ed. CRC Press; 2023: 182-201. doi:10.1201/9781003268598-17.
4. Coticchio G, Ezoe K, Lagalla C, et al. Perturbations of morphogenesis at the compaction stage affect blastocyst implantation and live birth rates. Human Reproduction. 2021; 36(4): 918-928. doi:10.1093/humrep/deab011.
5. Lagalla C, Coticchio G, Sciajno R, Tarozzi N, Zacà C, Borini A. Alternative patterns of partial embryo compaction: prevalence, morphokinetic history and possible implications. Reproductive BioMedicine Online. 2020; 40(3): 347-354. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2019.11.011.
6. De Martin H, Bonetti TCS, Nissel CAZ, Gomes AP, Fujii MG, Monteleone PAA. Association of early cleavage, morula compaction and blastocysts ploidy of IVF embryos cultured in a time-lapse system and biopsied for genetic test for aneuploidy. Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1): 739. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-51087-z.
7. Parriego M, Coll L, Carrasco B, et al. Blastocysts from partial compaction morulae are not defined by their early mistakes. Reproductive BioMedicine Online. 2024; 48(4): 103729. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2023.103729.
8. Nemerovsky L, Ghetler Y, Wiser A, Levi M. Two types of cleavage, from zygote to three cells, result in different clinical outcomes and should be treated differently. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024; 12: 1398684. doi:10.3389/fcell.2024.1398684.
9. Shavit M, Gonen D, Atzmon Y, et al. Cleavage Patterns of 9600 Embryos: The Importance of Irregular Cleavage. J Clin Med. 2023; 12(17): 5656. doi:10.3390/jcm12175656.
10. Lagalla C, Tarozzi N, Sciajno R, et al. Embryos with morphokinetic abnormalities may develop into euploid blastocysts. Reproductive BioMedicine Online. 2017; 34(2): 137-146. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2016.11.008.
11. Firmin J, Ecker N, Rivet Danon D, et al. Mechanics of human embryo compaction. Nature. 2024; 629(8012): 646-651. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07351-x.