{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:20:13Z","timestamp":1785406813272,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,27]],"date-time":"2026-04-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777248000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2024-00338274"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2024-00338274"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["RS-2024-00338274"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2024-00338274"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/013aysd81","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Ministry of Health & Welfare","award":["RS-2025-02214614"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-02214614"]}]},{"award":["RS-2025-02214614"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-02214614"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00vxgjw72","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antioxidants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Age-related decline in oocyte quality is closely associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative imbalance, which disrupt redox-sensitive meiotic signaling and compromise embryo developmental competence. Rescue in vitro maturation (r-IVM) enables the utilization of immature oocytes retrieved during conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. However, the developmental potential of r-IVM oocytes remains limited, particularly in women of advanced maternal age. This study evaluated whether transient caffeine supplementation during r-IVM improves the developmental competence of immature human oocytes in clinical assisted reproduction technology cycles. Immature oocytes obtained during conventional IVF were cultured with or without short-term caffeine exposure during r-IVM prior to standard culture conditions. After maturation, metaphase II oocytes underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and embryonic development was assessed by fertilization rate, day 3 good-quality embryo formation, and blastocyst development. Although caffeine supplementation did not significantly affect nuclear maturation rates, it significantly increased fertilization efficiency and the proportion of good-quality embryos compared with controls. These effects were most pronounced in women aged \u226537 years. Time-lapse morphokinetic analysis further revealed more synchronized developmental kinetics in embryos derived from caffeine-treated oocytes, resembling those derived from in vivo-matured oocytes. Collectively, these findings suggest that transient caffeine exposure during r-IVM enhances post-fertilization developmental competence. The underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated, and future studies are required to determine whether redox-sensitive meiotic pathways and mitochondrial function are involved.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antiox15050555","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T09:46:11Z","timestamp":1777455971000},"page":"555","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Antioxidant Supplementation with Caffeine During Rescue In Vitro Maturation Improves Fertilization and Embryo Development in Women of Advanced Maternal Age"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Gyungbin","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Science, Graduate School, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si 13488, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"CHA University Fertility Center Gangnam, 566 Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06135, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7875-1870","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jin Hee","family":"Eum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CHA University Fertility Center Gangnam, 566 Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06135, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tae Hyung","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CHA University Fertility Center Gangnam, 566 Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06135, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samuel J.","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brian D. 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