Cellular approach to cryopreservation of embryos

Considerable progress has been made in the improvement and simplification of cryopreservation procedures routinely used in embryo transfer programs. Conventional slow-rate, programmable freezing and vitrification of embryos have given veterinarians, scientists and producers alternatives in their herd reproduction practices, however, pregnancy rates after cryopreservation are not equivalent to fresh embryo transfer. No matter how embryos are cryopreserved, some always die, and that can be costly to the producer. Documenting cellular damage during or after cryopreservation would provide useful, non-empirical information for understanding cellular sensitivities to cryopreservation and will lead to improved protocols for embryo cryopreservation and a better understanding of domestic animal embryology. This paper discusses the current progress in embryo cryopreservation, and will address intracellular damage to the cytoarchitecture of cryopreserved embryos and attempts to detour this damage by utilizing cytoskeletal stabilization prior to cryopreservation.