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Lab 1 Assessment
1. Identify the origin of In Vitro Fertilization and the 2010 nobel prize winner associated with this technique and add a correctly formatted link to the Nobel page.
The History of In Vitro Fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) was first described for non-human use. The earliest known research conducted was by Walter Heape from Cambridge University in the 1890s who reported the first known case of embryo transplantation in rabbits. In 1959, Dr. Min Chueh Chang published his work in Nature describing the first successful mammalian live birth (rabbits) after IVF therapy.
Eventually, techniques for IVF in humans began to be developed. In 1978, the first successful IVF birth occurred in England - baby Louise Brown. The success was credited to the work of Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. The history of IVF is still in the making with new developments constantly occuring.
Nobel Prize for In Vitro Fertilisation Therapy
Robert G. Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine for development of human IVF therapy. His contribution to modern medicine has made it possible to treat infertility, giving many couples a chance to conceive.
2. Identify and add a PubMed reference link to a recent paper on fertilisation and describe its key findings (1-2 paragraphs).
Research in Fertilisation
In order for fusion between mammalian gametes to occur, a spermatazoan must pass through the layers on the oocyte's externa including the cumulus ophorus and the zona pellucida (ZP). It is believe that the acromosome reaction (AR) of the spermatozoa starts upon contact with the zona pellucida. Consequently, the cumulus cell layer has been removed in previous studies of mouse sperm-oocyte interactions in order to facilitate fertilisation. The recent experiments of Jin et al. (2011) sought to delve further into this concept of where the AR takes place and answer the question: "Where does the fertilising mouse spermatozoon begin the AR - in the cumulus [of the oocyte] or the zona pellucida?" [1] Jin et al. (2011) utilised fluorescence microscopy and transgenic mouse spermatozoa to conduct their investigation. Moreover, Jin et al. (2011) utilised cumulus-free oocytes and cumulus-enclosed oocytes in order to study the role of the cumulus cells in fertilisation.
From the experiment, it was found that most fertilising spermatozoa begin their AR before contact with the ZP [2]. The significance of this finding was that the spermatazoa with intact acromosome at the ZP seldom had the ability to penetrate through it whilst spermatozoa which had already began the AR could easily pass through the ZP. In regards to the role of the cumulus cells, it was found that cumulus enclosed oocytes had a higher incidence of fertilisation compared to cumulus-free oocytes. Moreover, cumulus-free oocytes had increased incidence of in vitro fertilisation when incubated with other cumulus-enclose cells; this finding suggests that cumulus cells harbour an important role in fertilisation. However, it is notable that when cumulus-free oocytes were incubated in a cumulus-conditioned medium, no increase in fertilisation rate was noted. Overall, it was concluded that fertilisation is possible without the cumulus oophorus, however, its presence confers benefit in increasing the chance of fertilisation.
References
Lab Attendance
Lab 1 --Z3333038 11:49, 25 July 2012 (EST)
