Carbohydrate analysis and embryo viability

Abstract

The capacity to be able to rank embryos in a quantitative fashion in the laboratory is highly sought after with many different approaches being tried, both refining morphological assessments that have been used for many years as well as the development and adoption of new technologies either genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolic approaches. Carbohydrate metabolism of the embryo, particularly the later stage embryo, is an attractive option as it is noninvasive, provides measures post-embryonic genome activation thereby including aspects of maternal and paternal genomes, and can easily be performed in the timeframe required for a fresh transfer. Animal studies highlight carbohydrate metabolism as an important feature in viability, and recent human studies have shown similar promise. The advent of platforms such as lab-on a-chip technologies should enable integration of technology in laboratories and facilitate large multicenter randomized controlled trials.