Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine

The Korean Society for Reproductive Medicine (대한생식의학회)
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Cryopreservation of Oocytes and Embryos by Vitrification

유리화 방법에 의한 난자와 수정란의 동결보존

  • Received : 2010.12.18
  • Accepted : 2010.12.24
  • Published : 2010.12.31
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Abstract

Life can be kept in suspended animation either before fertilization at oocyte stage or after fertilization at different stages of embryonic development for a variety of reasons. It not only has potential applications in fertility preservation and management in human but also has important roles in the preservation and management of animal genetic resources, low-cost international movement of selected genetics, and rapid dissemination of germplasm through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and genetic engineering. Currently, slow-freezing and vitrification are the two approaches by which oocytes and embryos can be cryopreserved for long-term storage. Both of these methods have their own advantages and disadvantages but allow the cryopreservation of oocytes and embryos with comparable efficiency. Vitrification of oocyte and embryos, although proven successful just 13 years after slow-freezing, is generally considered an emerging technology and appears to slow gain acceptance in both animal and human ART despite having controversial storage and contamination issues. In this manuscript, we discuss the basic techniques of oocyt/embryo cryopreservation and review the current status and recent developments in vitrification.

최근 동결기술이 발달하면서 다양한 목적에 따라 초기 발생단계, 특히 수정 전후의 난자나 수정란의 생명을 연장하는 것이 가능해졌다. 이러한 난자나 수정란의 보존기술은 인간의 수정능력을 배가시키거나 임신조절에서 응용되고 있으며, 동물에서는 우수한 유전자원의 보존과 운영, 저렴한 국제간 운송수단, 그리고 생식보조기술과 유전공학 등의 연구에 필요한 생식세포의 공급하는 데서도 중요하게 활용되고 있다. 최근 개발된 완만동결과 유리화 동결방법은 난자와 수정란을 장기간 동결하여 보존하는데 활용하는 주요 기술이다. 이러한 방법들은 각각 장점과 단점을 가지고 있지만, 상당한 수준의 효율성이 입증되어 실용화되어 있는 실정이다. 무엇보다도 유리화 방법은 완만동결 방법보다 13년이나 늦게 개발되었으나 보다 우수한 기술로 인정을 받고 있다. 비록 유리화 동결은 아직 대한 상반된 의견과 오염문제가 있지만 인간과 동물의 생식보조기술로 활용되는 빈도가 점차 많아지고 있는 실정이다. 따라서 본 원고에서는 먼저 난자와 수정란의 동결보존에 대한 기초적인 기술에 대해서 고찰한 다음, 유리화 동결에 관 한 최근의 연구동향에 대해서 종합적으로 검토하고자 한다.

Keywords

References

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