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30 March 2021 Small-volume vitrification and rapid warming yield high survivals of one-cell rat embryos in cryotubes
Yasuyoshi Fukuda, Misako Higashiya, Takahiro Obata, Keita Basaki, Megumi Yano, Kazuaki Matsumura, Kyoichi Ono, Takayoshi Ohba, Yosuke Okamoto, Kazutoshi Nishijima, Shinsuke Seki
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Abstract

To cryopreserve cells, it is essential to avoid intracellular ice formation during cooling and warming. One way to achieve this is to convert the water inside the cells into a non-crystalline glass. It is currently believed that to accomplish this vitrification, the cells must be suspended in a very high concentration (20–40%) of a glass-inducing solute, and subsequently cooled very rapidly. Herein, we report that this belief is erroneous with respect to the vitrification of one-cell rat embryos. In the present study, one-cell rat embryos were vitrified with 5 µL of EFS10 (a mixture of 10% ethylene glycol (EG), 27% Ficoll, and 0.45 M sucrose) in cryotubes at a moderate cooling rate, and warmed at various rates. Survival was assessed according to the ability of the cells to develop into blastocysts and to develop to term. When embryos were vitrified at a 2613 °C/min cooling rate and thawed by adding 1 mL of sucrose solution (0.3 M, 50 °C) at a warming rate of 18 467 °C/min, 58.1 ± 3.5% of the EFS10-vitrified embryos developed into blastocysts, and 50.0 ± 4.7% developed to term. These rates were similar to those of non-treated intact embryos. Using a conventional cryotube, we achieved developmental capabilities in one-cell rat embryos by rapid warming that were comparable to those of intact embryos, even using low concentrations (10%) of cell-permeating cryoprotectant and at low cooling rates.

Summary sentence

Rapid warming (18 467 °C/min) of vitrified one-cell rat embryos results in high rates of development to blastocysts (58.1%) and pups (50.0%), even with cryotubes.

Graphical Abstract

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© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
Yasuyoshi Fukuda, Misako Higashiya, Takahiro Obata, Keita Basaki, Megumi Yano, Kazuaki Matsumura, Kyoichi Ono, Takayoshi Ohba, Yosuke Okamoto, Kazutoshi Nishijima, and Shinsuke Seki "Small-volume vitrification and rapid warming yield high survivals of one-cell rat embryos in cryotubes," Biology of Reproduction 105(1), 258-266, (30 March 2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioab059
Received: 6 October 2020; Accepted: 17 March 2021; Published: 30 March 2021
KEYWORDS
intracellular ice formation
one-cell rat embryo
rapid warming
recrystallization
vitrification
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