ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION A key technique in assisted reproductive technology (ART) is intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), whereby a sperm is microinjected directly into the oocyte cytosol. Predominantly used to treat male factor infertility following the failure of conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF), ICSI remains a successful technique that results in normal fertilization in 70% of injected oocytes. However, a noted phenomenon associated with male infertility is the failure of some oocytes to activate, with embryos failing either to protrude the second polar body or to successfully proceed past the rst cell division, even following ICSI. One approach to cases of failed oocyte activation aer ICSI is to stimulate the oocyte articially. So-called articial oocyte activation (AOA) has already been attempted in many different clinics, to varying degrees of success. Herein, we discuss oocyte activation at mammalian fertilization and relate this fundamental biological process with the clinical phenomenon of oocyte activation deciency. We also discuss the science behind the stimuli used to induce AOA, alongside future directions for treatment.
