Objective: To establish a relevant animal model to systematically investigate chromosomal instability in human oocytes and preimplantation embryos.
Design: Prospective rhesus monkey IVF study.
Setting: Academic laboratory, Oregon National Primate Research Center and Caribbean Primate Research Center.
Animal(s): Young rhesus macaque females.
Intervention(s): In vitro produced entire rhesus macaque preimplantation embryos were cytogenetically assessed using a five-color fluorescent in situ hybridization assay developed for rhesus macaque chromosomes homologous to human chromosomes 13, 16, 18, X, and Y, using human bacterial artificial chromosome probes.
Main outcome measure(s): Chromosomal abnormality rates in preimplantation embryos from young rhesus macaque females were established.
Result(s): Fifty preimplantation embryos, displaying good morphology and normal development, were analyzed from 11 young rhesus macaque females. Overall, 27 embryos (54%) were normal, 11 embryos (22%) mosaic, 3 embryos (6%) chaotic, 2 embryos (4%) aneuploid, 3 embryos (6%) haploid, and 4 embryos (8%) triploid.
Conclusion(s): These data indicate that in vitro produced rhesus macaque and human preimplantation embryos exhibit similar numerical chromosomal aberrations. Rhesus macaques appear to be a suitable animal model for investigating the origin of chromosomal instability observed in human preimplantation embryos.