In a 2025 study, researchers found that poor mitochondrial activity limits the ability of immature eggs to reach maturity, leading to reduced maturation in eggs from older women.
Mitochondrial health
In a 2025 study, researchers tested a noninvasive MRI-like tool that reads an embryo’s metabolic health, accurately predicting which would stop developing and potentially helping select the healthiest for transfer.
A pilot study in 2025 explored whether mitochondrial DNA mutations in follicular fluid could reflect egg quality, finding some early signs of a possible link, but there were some significant limitations.
The egg cell contains a high number of mitochondria, which are tiny cellular organs that produce energy that the egg needs to power fertilization and embryo development. Research has shown that these mitochondria can become dysfunctional with age, leading to reduced energy availability for the egg that could result in poor egg quality. Different treatments that target mitochondria, like antioxidant supplements or mitochondrial donation, may improve egg quality, although good quality research is lacking that shows these treatments are truly effective.
Embryo arrest is when an embryo stops developing, usually before reaching the blastocyst stage. This post explains possible causes, including embryonic genome activation, maternal effect genes, the subcortical maternal complex, aneuploidy, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, lab conditions, and sperm DNA fragmentation.