JBRA Assist. Reprod. 2025;29(Suppl 1):18-18
POSTER PRESENTATION
doi: 10.5935/1518-0557.20250073
1Clínica Concebir. Lima, Perú
2Gameto Inc, New York, New York, United States
3PRANOR Laboratorio. Grupo de Reproducción Asistida. Lima, Perú
Objective: To compare embryological outcomes of in vitro maturation (IVM) using a co-culture system with ovarian support cells (OSC co-culture group; Fertilo) versus standard IVM using culture media alone (standard IVM group; MediCult) in infertile patients.
Methods: Following confirmation of the safety of the ovarian support cell (OSC) co-culture system (Fertilo) in an initial observational phase, a randomized, controlled exploratory study was conducted at a single center. Twenty infertile women (ten per group), aged ≤37 years and with anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels >2 ng/mL, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to undergo in vitro maturation (IVM) either with the OSC co-culture system (OSC co-culture group; Fertilo) or with standard monophasic IVM medium (standard IVM group; MediCult). All participants underwent minimal ovarian stimulation followed by retrieval of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs), which were matured in vitro according to group allocation. Embryological outcomes per oocyte retrieved included maturation to metaphase II (MII), fertilization by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cleavage on day 3, blastocyst formation, high-quality blastocyst development (≥3CC, Gardner criteria), and euploid blastocyst formation confirmed by preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A). Statistical analysis was performed to compare embryological outcomes per COC per cycle between small comparator cohorts. Given the sample size, this was considered an exploratory analysis. A p-value <0.05 was deemed statistically significant. Analyses were conducted using GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA).
Results: Embryological outcomes per cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) were significantly improved in the OSC co-culture group compared to the standard IVM group. Maturation rates to metaphase II were 69.66%±6.81% in the OSC co-culture group versus 51.98%±6.87% in the standard IVM group (p=0.0047). Fertilization rates were also higher (52.32%±6.58% vs. 30.05%±4.90%, p=0.0004), as were cleavage rates (50.66%±6.38% vs. 27.61%±5.10%, p=0.0002). Blastocyst formation occurred in 15.64%±3.52% of COCs in the OSC co-culture group versus 10.34%±3.51% in the standard IVM group (p=0.061). The proportion of high-quality blastocysts (≥3CC) was 14.21%±3.22% in the OSC co-culture group versus 7.09%±2.28% in the standard IVM group (p=0.0135). Euploid blastocyst formation confirmed by PGT-A was also significantly higher in the OSC co-culture group (9.68%±2.99%) compared to the standard group (2.48%±1.28%) (p=0.0040). No adverse events were reported in either group. Ongoing pregnancy outcomes are currently under evaluation.
Conclusion: Co-culture with ovarian support cells (OSC co-culture group; Fertilo) was associated with improved embryological outcomes compared to standard IVM (standard IVM group; MediCult). This technique has shown promising results, including the first live birth worldwide, achieved at our center in Lima, Peru. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.