Factors affecting meiotic and developmental competence of primary spermatocyte nuclei injected into mouse oocytes.

Mature mouse oocytes that have received the nuclei of pachytene primary spermatocytes (or metaphase I chromosomes of primary spermatocytes) can develop into fertile offspring. However, success rate in this study was low. No more than 3.8% of transferred 2-cell embryos arising from spermatocyte-injected oocytes developed to full term. Nevertheless, the birth of normal offspring seems to suggest that at least in some primary spermatocytes the functional genomic imprinting is complete before transfer and/or consolidated after the transfer. Although injected spermatocyte nuclei could undergo two successive meiotic divisions within oocytes, abnormalities of both divisions were commonly observed, and sister chromatids often separated prematurely during the second meiotic division. Chromosome breakage/rearrangements were also frequently seen before the first cleavage. Such abnormalities of chromosome behavior are probably the major causes of the poor preimplantation development of zygotes arising from primary spermatocyte-injected oocytes. Thus, clinical use of primary spermatocytes as substitutes for spermatozoa in assisted fertilization is not advisable until the causes of chromosomal abnormalities are better understood through extensive animal studies.