THE EFFECTS OF COCULTURE WITH AUTOLOGOUS CRYOPRESERVED ENDOMETRIAL CELLS ON HUMAN IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION AND EARLY EMBRYO MORPHOLOGY - A RANDOMIZED STUDY

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of endomet rial cells on the fertilization rate and early embryonic morphology fo llowing routine in vitro fertilization (IVF). Cryopreservation with su bsequent thawing allowed the use of autologous somatic cells, thus min imizing the risk of transmission of infective agents. Interpatient var iability was eliminated by randomizing oocytes from each cycle into th e control or coculture group. Results: Two hundred ninety-four oocytes from 24 IVF cycles (21 patients) were included in the study (145 cocu lture and 149 control). The normal fertilization rate of control oocyt es (56.4%) was not significantly different from that of oocytes cocult ured with endometrial cells (61.4%). The mean number of blastomeres in cocultured embryos (3.65) was not significantly different from the nu mber in control embryos (3.46) 2 days after insemination, but the prop ortion of embryos with minimal or no fragmentation was significantly h igher in the coculture group [34/84 (40.5%) vs. 17/80 (21.3%); P < 0.0 1]. Conclusions: The inclusion of cryopreserved autologous endometrial cells in routine clinical IVF procedures does not influence fertiliza tion or the early cleavage rare but may reduce the extent of embryo fr agmentation during the early cleavage divisions.