Characterization of ovarian tissue oocytes from transgender men reveals poor calcium release and embryo development, which might be overcome by spindle transfer.

Study Question: Can spindle transfer (ST) overcome inferior embryonic development of in vitro matured ovarian tissue oocytes (OTO-IVM) originating from testosterone-treated transgender men?

Summary Answer: ST shows some potential to overcome the embryo developmental arrest observed in OTO-IVM oocytes from transgender men.

What Is Known Already: OTO-IVM is being applied as a complementary approach to increase the number of oocytes/embryos available for fertility preservation during ovarian tissue cryopreservation in cancer patients. OTO-IVM has also been proposed for transgender men, although the potential of their oocytes remains poorly investigated.

Validation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) to screen for depression and anxiety in the Greek general population.

Objective: The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) is an ultra-brief self-report screening scale for depression and anxiety with promising psychometric properties; however, its reliability and validity have not been investigated in Greece yet. The objective of the current study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the PHQ-4 and to establish a cut-off score to identify depression and anxiety in the Greek general population.

Methods: The reliability of the PHQ-4 was assessed using a random sample of 204 students from Athens, Greece.

Human germline nuclear transfer to overcome mitochondrial disease and failed fertilization after ICSI.

Purpose: Providing additional insights on the efficacy of human nuclear transfer (NT). Here, and earlier, NT has been applied to minimize transmission risk of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases. NT has also been proposed for treating infertility, but it is still unclear which infertility indications would benefit.

Expression of Retroelements in Mammalian Gametes and Embryos.

Retroelements are genetic mobile elements, expressed during male and female gamete differentiation. Retrotransposons are normally regulated by the methylation machinery, chromatin modifications, non-coding RNAs, and transcription factors, while retrotransposition control is of vital importance in cellular proliferation and differentiation process. Retrotransposition requires a transcription step, by a cellular RNA polymerase, followed by reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate to cDNA and its integration into a new genomic locus.