Beyond Survival Effects of Vitrification-Warming on Epigenetic Modification and Maternal Transcripts of Oocytes

Abstract

Oocyte vitrification-warming is a worldwide used technique for human fertility preservation. The question of whether the potential risk is associated with this specific procedure remains unresolved. As a fundamental factor of development, oocytes play an important role in early embryonic development, including epigenetic reprogramming and maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), that can develop to term. Vitrification, as a significant stressor, appears to have a significant impact on epigenetic modifiers and maternal transcripts of the oocyte, which ultimately results in lower developmental potential. Due to the rapidly evolving single-cell multi-omics sequencing, there have been many advances in this field. We will discuss recent progress in the impact of oocyte vitrification on epigenetic modification and maternal transcripts in this manuscript, hoping to provide a theoretical basis for the optimization and improvement of vitrification-warming technology.