Objective: To develop an effective ICR mouse embryo culture medium.
Design: In vitro model study.
Setting: University-affiliated hospital.
Animals: Four-week-old, superovulated mice.
Intervention(s): In vivo- or in vitro-derived one-cell embryos were cultured in preimplantation-1 medium (P-1).
Main outcome measure(s): Preimplantation development.
Result(s): In vivo-derived embryos were cultured in BSA-containing P-1, to which one of the following substances was added: [1] no addition, [2] amino acids (aa), [3] aa+hemoglobin (hb), [4] aa+hb+cysteine (cys), [5] aa+hb and glucose (glu) added at the four-cell, or [6] aa+hb and glu+cys added at the four-cell stage. More (P<0.05) blastocysts developed after aa or aa+hb addition than after no addition, and glu addition to such medium further stimulated the formation (54%). In P-1 with aa+glu, the addition of 1 microg/mL hb was optimal. Additional improvement of blastocyst formation (78%) was achieved by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), supplementation and bovine serum albumin replacement with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) did not inhibit the development. P-1 supplemented with aa, hb, glu, EDTA, and PVA also supported the development of in vitro-derived embryos (70%).
Conclusion(s): A modified P-1 medium was developed, and it supported the development of both in vivo- and in vitro-derived ICR mouse embryos.