A NEW METHOD TO STUDY THE PROCESS OF IMPLANTATION OF A HUMAN BLASTOCYST IN-VITRO

Objectives: To develop a ''miniorgan'' culture of human endometrium da ted according to the LH peak in order to study the process of implanta tion of a human blastocyst in vitro. Design: Preliminary results of a more extensive study with the same objectives. Setting: Hospital-based unit of reproductive health and university-related reproductive resea rch laboratories. Patients: Six apparently healthy women with normal r egular menstrual cycles providing endometrial material 4, 5, and 6 day s after the LH peak. Intervention: One part of the biopsy was used for histologic dating, The other part was incubated in culture medium RPM I-1640 and exposed to the contact with one to three embryos fertilized in vitro. Main Outcome Measure: Biopsy material before and after incu bation was studied by morphometric methods in a light microscope. The histologic changes were recorded by photomicrographs. Results: Implant ation of an embryo obtained 4 days after IVF penetrated the lining end ometrial epithelium of a biopsy obtained 4 days after the LH peak and kept in vitro for 24 hours. The embryo was placed on the lining epithe lium of the endometrium within 3 hours after the biopsy was taken. Con clusion: A new method to study the process of implantation of a human embryo in vitro has been described, allowing the embryo to penetrate t he lining endometrial epithelium in a biopsy obtained at LH +4/+5.