APPLICATION OF IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION TECHNIQUES TO STUDY HUMAN PREIMPLANTATION EMBRYOS - A REVIEW

Although the first in-situ hybridization (ISH) experiments were perfor med more than two decades ago, it was not until 1987 that the techniqu e was implemented in the study of preimplantation, Since then, several groups have explored the feasibility of using the ISH technique as a diagnostic tool to study the genomic constitution of human preimplanta tion embryos. Though a fair number of such ISH studies have been publi shed and unravelling of the embryos' genomic secrets proceeds with gre at strides, there are still many challenges in this area of research. The scope of this review is to outline the research and diagnostic app lications of single and multicolour (fluorescence) ISH to study the ch romosomal content of human preimplantation embryos and to discuss the implications for human preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Current hybr idization techniques are being discussed, including the capabilities a nd pitfalls of this approach when applied to human preimplantation emb ryos. Finally, future perspectives for the ISH technique in studying t he genomic constitution of preimplantation embryos are reviewed.