The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of long-acting progesterone (P4) versus a P4-releasing intravaginal device (PRID) in restoring ovarian activity in dromedary camels with inactive ovaries, and to determine whether P4 priming is necessary before eCG administration. Seventy-five camels were equally assigned to three groups: a control group receiving only 1500 IU eCG; a PRID group treated with a 12-day PRIDΔ followed by eCG; and a P4 long-acting (P4 LA) group administered 1500 mg P4 LA followed by eCG on Day 12. Serum P4 and estradiol (E2) levels were measured on Days 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20, and reproductive outcomes were recorded. Results showed that the P4 LA group exhibited a rapid increase followed by a sharp decline in P4 levels, whereas the PRID group maintained more stable P4 levels, with a gradual decrease by Day 12. Moreover, from Day 16 onward, primed groups had significantly higher E2 levels than controls (p < 0.05). The response rate was 100% in the primed groups versus 60% in controls (p < 0.05), and the interval from eCG injection to ovulatory follicle development was shorter in primed groups (p < 0.05). The 18-day conception rate was highest in the PRID group (100%), followed by P4 LA (84%) and controls (53.3%). However, the pregnancy rate at Day 60 did not differ between PRID (84%) and P4 LA (80%) groups, both of which were significantly higher than controls (13.3%) (p < 0.05). In conclusion, P4 priming is essential before eCG administration, and LA P4 offers practical advantages for field veterinarians.

Oocyte vitrification is widely used in fertility preservation and assisted reproductive technologies (ART), but current protocols rely on sequential cryoprotectant exposure steps that are labor-intensive and operator-dependent. This study evaluated the feasibility of a simplified one-step vitrification and warming protocol using mouse metaphase II oocytes. An initial optimization phase using 716 oocytes identified the optimal exposure time to the newly developed vitrification and warming solutions. Subsequently, 876 oocytes were allocated to fresh controls, standard multi-step vitrification, or the optimized one-step protocol. Outcomes included post-warming survival, meiotic spindle integrity, chromosome alignment, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, mitochondrial distribution, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes, blastocyst development, total blastocyst cell counts, and full-term development after embryo transfer. An one-step exposure time of 2 min achieved the highest post-warming survival (100%), comparable to the standard protocol (98.9%; p = 0.080). Immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated normal spindle morphology, chromosome alignment, oxidative stress levels, and mitochondrial distribution across groups. Survival after warming and ICSI, as well as blastocyst formation rates, did not differ significantly between vitrification methods and fresh controls (p > 0.05). Although blastocyst total cell numbers were slightly reduced in vitrified groups, full-term development rates were comparable among all groups, and offspring developed normally to adulthood. These findings demonstrate that one-step vitrification and warming can preserve oocyte developmental competence while substantially simplifying cryopreservation procedures, supporting its potential as a practical alternative to conventional vitrification protocols in ART.

This study aimed to investigate the impacts of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the pregnancy outcomes of infertile individuals with endometriosis after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). Patients with endometriosis-induced infertility who underwent elective laparoscopic surgery and IVF-ET were included. They were divided into PRP + IVF-ET, G-CSF + IVF-ET, and control groups. The blood flow typing, endometrial morphology, endometrial thickness, uterine artery blood flow, clinical pregnancy outcomes, and adverse reactions were compared. After treatment, the flow velocity, resistance index, and pulse index of the uterine artery were lower while endometrial thickness was greater in both treatment groups than before treatment (P < .05). After treatment, the proportion of endometrial morphology types A and B was higher while type C was lower than before treatment, and the proportion of endometrial blood flow type I was lower while types II and I-II were higher in both treatment groups (P < .05). Nevertheless, there were no discernible changes in those indexes and adverse reactions between both treatment groups (P > .05). Intrauterine perfusion with either PRP or human G-CSF demonstrated comparable effects in enhancing endometrial receptivity and improving clinical pregnancy outcomes in patients who remained infertile following laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis.

Cryopreservation, particularly vitrification, is a cornerstone of assisted reproductive technology, preventing ice crystal damage to ensure high survival rates. However, existing manual systems, such as Cryotop, depend on the embryologist's skill, which introduces procedural variability and hinders standardisation. While some semiautomated systems have been developed, issues with laboratory integration and limited throughput have prevented their widespread adoption. To address this, Biorocks (China) has created a novel semiautomated vitrification system. This study consists of a parent multicentre randomised device trial and a prospective observational live-birth extension follow-up study. The parent multicentre randomised controlled trial is designed to determine whether this novel semiautomated vitrification system is non-inferior to the established manual vitrification method in preserving postwarming human blastocyst viability. To further assess clinically relevant reproductive outcomes, a prospective multicentre observational live-birth extension study will evaluate live birth and postpartum safety outcomes among participants who complete the parent trial follow-up.

Endometriosis is associated with reduced pregnancy and live birth rates in patients attempting both spontaneous and assisted conception. At present, it is unclear whether prepregnancy surgery for moderate or severe endometriosis, either in the setting of established infertility or even before a woman has begun trying to conceive, confers any benefit in terms of (a) spontaneous conception, (b) conception with assisted reproductive technology (ART), (c) live birth or (d) other obstetric outcomes.

Ectoine, a compatible solute produced by extremophilic bacteria, is widely used for mucosal protection due to its cytoprotective and anti‑inflammatory properties. However, its effects within the female reproductive tract and its interaction with sperm‑associated immune responses remain unknown. This study provides the first assessment of ectoine's immunomodulatory activity in bovine cervical and uterine tissues and its influence on sperm-polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) interactions. Cervical and uterine explants from follicular‑phase heifers (n = 5) were pre‑incubated with 0, 0.5, 5 or 50 mM ectoine prior to stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or sperm. Cytokine concentrations (IL‑8, IL‑6, IL‑1β) were measured by ELISA, and sperm-PMN binding and sperm motility following PMN co‑incubation were evaluated. Baseline cytokine secretion was higher in uterine versus cervical explants (P < 0.05), indicating distinct tissue‑specific immune profiles. Ectoine alone did not alter basal cytokine secretion (P > 0.05). LPS increased IL‑8, IL‑6 and IL‑1β secretion from cervical explants and IL‑8 and IL‑1β in uterine explants (P < 0.05), and ectoine did not modify these responses (P > 0.05). Sperm elevated IL‑1β release from uterine explants (P < 0.01), while IL‑6 and IL‑8 remained unchanged; this response was also unaffected by ectoine (P > 0.05). Ectoine did not influence sperm-PMN binding or sperm motility in the presence of PMNs (P > 0.05). Collectively, this study provides the first reproductive‑tract safety evaluation of ectoine, demonstrating that it does not disrupt constitutive or stimulus‑induced inflammatory signalling nor interfere with sperm-immune interactions. These findings support ectoine's safe incorporation into semen preservation and assisted reproductive technologies.