Int. J. Dev. Biol. 52: 449 - 454 (2008)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.082602hk

Vol 52, Issue 5-6

Special Issue: Fertilization

Triploidy - the breakdown of monogamy between sperm and egg

Published: 1 July 2008

Hey-Joo Kang and Zev Rosenwaks*

The Center for Reprodutive Medicine and Infertility, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, USA

Abstract

The advent of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has taught us a great deal about human fertilization patterns. Thirty years of experience with IVF and cultivation of early embryos has provided a unique view into the mechanisms of normal and aberrant human fertilization. Here we review the different types of triploidy following conventional in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection, as well as the mechanisms giving rise to digynic and dispermic fertilization. Additionally, the role of the centrosome in triploidy, the genetic analysis of triploid embryos and the potential for therapeutic enucleation are explored. Lastly, we review our own clinical experience with human fertilization patterns following > 20,000 treatment cycles of assisted reproduction.

Keywords

fertilization, triploid, dispermic, digynic, IVF , ICSI