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A microwell culture system that allows group culture and is compatible with human single media

  • Embryo Biology
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

A microwell culture system that facilitates group culture, such as well-of-the-well (WOW), improves embryonic development in an individual culture. We examined the effect of WOW on embryonic development in vitro with commercially available human single culture media.

Methods

Using four different commercial human single culture media, in vitro development and imprinted gene expression of bovine embryos cultured in WOW were compared to droplet culture (one zygote per drop). To determine the effects of microwell and group culture on embryonic development, different numbers of embryos were cultured in droplet or WOW. Diffusion simulation of accumulating metabolites was conducted using the finite volume method.

Results

WOW had a positive effect on bovine embryonic development, regardless of the type of single culture media. Imprinted gene expression was not different between droplet- and WOW-derived blastocysts. The microwell and group cultures in WOW showed a significant positive effect on the rate of total blastocysts and the rate of development to the expanded and hatching blastocyst stages. The assumed cumulative metabolite concentration of WOW with one embryo was 1.47 times higher than that of droplet culture with one embryo. Furthermore, the concentration of WOW with three embryos was 1.54 times higher than that of WOW with one embryo.

Conclusions

In using human single culture media, a microwell culture system that allows group culture could be a powerful clinical tool for improving the success of assisted reproductive technologies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Editage (https://www.editage.jp/) for editing the draft of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minatomirai Yume Clinic, Yokohama, 3-6-3 MM Park Building 2nd Floor Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 220-0012, Japan

    Shoko Ieda, Yoko Sakaguchi, Sumi Shimamura & Hirotsune Kaijima

  2. Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., Chiba, 277-0871, Japan

    Tomonori Akai & Masanori Kagota

  3. Department of Biological Production, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Atsushi Sugawara & Satoshi Sugimura

  4. John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Institute for Biogenesis Research, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Atsushi Sugawara

  5. Division of Animal Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Masahiro Kaneda

  6. Animal Breeding and Reproduction Research Division, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Ibaraki, 305-0901, Japan

    Satoko Matoba

Authors
  1. Shoko Ieda
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  2. Tomonori Akai
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  6. Masahiro Kaneda
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  7. Satoko Matoba
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  8. Masanori Kagota
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  9. Satoshi Sugimura
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  10. Hirotsune Kaijima
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Satoshi Sugimura or Hirotsune Kaijima.

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This study has been approved by Minotomirai Yume Clinic ethics committee.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary Movie S1

Diffusion kinetics of metabolites from embryos cultured in droplet and LinKIDⓇ micro8 (LinKID). Cumulative metabolites in droplet with one embryo (left) and LinKID with three embryos (right) which color indicates the metabolites concentration. Minimum concentration, zero mol is colored with blue and maximum value, 3.0E−09 mol is colored with red on the right color scale (AVI 554 kb)

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Ieda, S., Akai, T., Sakaguchi, Y. et al. A microwell culture system that allows group culture and is compatible with human single media. J Assist Reprod Genet 35, 1869–1880 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-018-1252-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-018-1252-z

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