Current insights into the multifactorial mechanisms of embryo development arrest in vitro

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2026.180

Tanygina M.Yu., Timofeeva A.V., Nazarenko T.A.
Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia

Embryo development arrest in vitro is one of the causes of failure in assisted reproductive technology (ART) programs. Around 12–18% of infertile couples do not produce viable blastocysts suitable for cryopreservation and/or transfer on days 5–6 after fertilization. Despite the significant role played by chromosomal abnormalities, euploid embryos also cease to develop at the cleavage stage. The reasons for this arrest have not yet been fully established and are currently the subject of active research. This review examines the possible pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the embryo development arrest, including defects in oocyte activation, maternal-to-zygotic transition, impaired genomic and epigenetic stability, metabolic dysfunction and the onset of cellular stress.
Conclusion. The diversity of molecular pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the embryo development arrest suggests the need for further in-depth study of this process. Increasing knowledge about possible causes is important both for a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms underlying early embryonic development and for the application of assisted reproductive technologies in clinical practice. Identification of the key stages in pathogenesis could form the basis for improving approaches to embryo quality assessment, optimizing culture conditions and enhancing the success rates of in vitro fertilization programs.

Authors’ contributions. Tanygina M.Yu. – search and analysis of literature, writing the text of the article; Timofeeva A.V., Nazarenko T.A. – editing and final approval of the article.
Conflicts of interest. Authors declare lack of the possible conflicts of interests.
Funding. The work was carried out with financial support from the Ministry of Health of Russia as part of government-funded project 125022002648-0 on the topic: ‘Assessment of blastocyst cell ploidy and its implantation potential based on the level of extracellular piwi RNAs in the culture medium’.
Generative Artificial Intelligence. No generative artificial intelligence technologies were used in the preparation of this article.
For citation: Tanygina M.Yu., Timofeeva A.V., Nazarenko T.A. Current insights
into the multifactorial mechanisms of embryo development arrest in vitro.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2026; (9): 17-23 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2026.180

early embryonic arrest

maternal-to-zygotic transition

IVF

blastocyst

small non-coding RNAs

Full text (in Russian)

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Received 08.06.2026

Accepted 02.09.2026

Maria Yu. Tanygina, PhD student, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health
of the Russian Federation, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, dr.maria.tanygina@yandex.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1683-001X
Angelika V. Timofeeva, PhD (Bio), Head of the Laboratory of Applied Transcriptomics, Department of Systems Biology in Reproduction, Institute of Translational Medicine, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation,
117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, v_timofeeva@oparina4.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2324-9653
Tatyana A. Nazarenko, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Head of the Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, t_nazarenko@oparina4.ru,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5823-1667
Corresponding author: Maria Yu. Tanygina, dr.maria.tanygina@yandex.com

Current insights into the multifactorial mechanisms of embryo development arrest in vitro

Tanygina M.Yu., Timofeeva A.V., Nazarenko T.A.

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