CELLULAR APPROACH TO CRYOPRESERVATION OF EMBRYOS

Considerable progress has been made in the improvement and simplificat ion of cryopreservation procedures routinely used in embryo transfer p rograms. Conventional slow-rate, programmable freezing and vitrificati on of embryos have given veterinarians, scientists and producers alter natives in their herd reproduction practices, however, pregnancy rates after cryopreservation are not equivalent to fresh embryo transfer. N o matter how embryos are cryopreserved, some always die, and that can be costly to the producer. Documenting cellular damage during or after cryopreservation would provide useful, non-empirical information for understanding cellular sensitivities to cryopreservation and will lead to improved protocols for embryo cryopreservation and a better unders tanding of domestic animal embryology. This paper discusses the curren t progress in embryo cryopreservation, and will address intracellular damage to the cytoarchitecture of cryopreserved embryos and attempts t o detour this damage by utilizing cytoskeletal stabilization prior to cryopreservation.