In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) using magnetotactic sperm cells and their prospects for assisted in vivo reproduction

Research output: Contribution to journalMeeting abstractContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • C. Ribeiro - , Leibniz Association (Author)
  • F. Striggow - , CIC nanoGUNE (Author)
  • F. Hebenstreit - , Leibniz Association (Author)
  • R. Nauber - , Leibniz Association (Author)
  • J. Schoen - , Technical University of Berlin (Author)
  • M. Medina-Sanchez - , Micro- and Nano-Biosystems (Research Group), Leibniz Association , CIC nanoGUNE (Author)

Abstract

Are bovine Magnetotactic Sperm Cells (MSC) able to fertilize an oocyte in-vitro and Which would be the main requirements for translating this technology to in-vivo?IVF using highly purified MSC result in embryo development until blastocyst stage. We demonstrate different alternatives to control multiple MSC, individually and as a swarm.Medical microrobots have appeared as the new generation of drug delivery vehicles. They are tiny devices in the order of a few micrometers, able to move in biological environments by different means, physical, chemical, or biohybrid. They are functionalized to deliver targeted therapies for drugs, cells, or other payloads. In assisted reproduction, sperm-hybrid microcarriers have been pioneered by our group, and various in vitro demonstrations have been done to assist sperm cells with motion deficiencies or low count and to deliver anticancer drugs for treating, for example, cervical and ovarian cancer, but so far in-vitro fertilization has never been shown.Experimental quantitative study design. A total of 520 bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes were used for in vitro fertilization. The analyzed sample groups were using bovine frozen sperm cells, MSC, or by evaluating parthenogenetic activation. A power of 0.98 with an a-error of 0.05 was used for the IVF experiments. Sperm samples in the control as well as the micromotor groups have been analyzed for different sperm parameters.Bovine MSC are created by thawing frozen sperm cells and adding polystyrene microparticles. Different sperm parameters were evaluated to check the effects of the particles in the cells. After developing a purification method for the MSC, bovine ovaries were collected from a slaughterhouse nearby and, after in vitro maturation, were used for the IVF experiments. Ultrasound, and photoacoustic imaging setups with a set of electromagnets were employed for real-time manipulation and visualization of MSC.Sperm viability was significantly higher in the MSC group compared to the control group 6h after formation (72.3 ± 5.0% vs 35.0 ± 4.1%), and after 24 hours, both viabilities decreased drastically to 16.6 ± 3.9% and 7.7 ± 1.7% respectively, probably a possible local antioxidant effect by the microparticles through the formation of a protein corona. In the case of motility, the MSC group presented significantly higher motility up to 6h (64.0 ± 1.5%), and in all the measured times, the motility of the MSC group was higher than the control group. Purification of the micromotor sample was performed, but an average of 63 free sperm was still on the MSC sample. IVF experiments were performed, and blastocyst development was observed in IVF control (2x106 sperm/ml), medium concentration (same concentration as MSC group), and the MSC groups (275.000 sperm/ml). No blastocyst formation was observed in the parthenogenetic, parthenogenetic + particles, and low-concentration groups (number of free sperm). The MSC group was significantly different in cleavage and blastocyst rates compared to the low concentration groups, with p-values of 0.04552 and 0.005865, respectively, which suggest that fertilization may have occurred by the micromotors instead by the free sperm in the sample.More studies of these MSC in the different gynecological tissues and on embryo development are needed to ensure the safety of future human translation. In addition, developing a detection system for micromotors in deep tissue is needed to perform in vivo experiments.MSC show an alternative to efficiently guide efficiently sperm cells in different biological environments and can be a promising alternative method for assisted fertilization, and the treatment of a variety of gynecological diseases. They can also be used as exploratory tools to learn more about sperm migration in-vivo, among othersEuropean Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program No. 853609

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numberP-260
Pages (from-to)I317-I317
Number of pages1
JournalHuman reproduction
Volume39
Issue numberSuppl 1
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

Conference

Title40th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Abbreviated titleESHRE 2024
Conference number40
Duration7 - 10 July 2024
Website
LocationRAI Amsterdam & Online
CityAmsterdam
CountryNetherlands

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-3295-0727/work/194821393
Mendeley 7355f588-5955-379a-bded-a602765aaa20
unpaywall 10.1093/humrep/deae108.630

Keywords