In vitro application of matrigel enhances human blastocyst formation and hatching

Matrigel (extracellular matrix) can improve the growth of many celltypes in vitro.

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of Matrigel on thedevelopment of 2-4 cells human embryos in culture.

Surplus 2-4 cells human embryos, resulting from ICSI, weredivided into two groups (control and test). Quality of embryos in both groups wasmorphologically similar. The test group (n=140) was cultured in Hams’ F10supplemented with 10% human serum albumin and 150 μl liquid Matrigel. The controlgroup (n=140) was cultured in the same medium devoid of Matrigel. Embryos werecultured for an additional 4 days and their morphology was assessed every 24 hours.Both groups were then statistically compared.

The percentage of the human embryos that reached the morula stage in thecontrol and test groups were 79.2% and 80%, respectively (p>0.05). However, 36.4%of embryos reached the blastocyst stage in the test group as compared to 5.7% in thecontrol group after 144 hours in culture. This difference was statically significant (p<0.01). In addition, culture of embryos on Matrigel and medium versus medium alonesignificantly improved in vitro hatching (25.7% versus 3.5%; p <0.01).

Matrigel at low concentration enhances human blastocyst formation andhatching in vitro.