Impact of Maternal Hormone Profile and Paternal Sperm DNA Fragmentation on Clinical Outcomes Following Assisted Reproduction.

Background: Success of assisted reproductive techniques depends on multiple factors including maternal endocrine status, hormonal balance, and paternal sperm quality. A comprehensive pre-treatment evaluation allows better prediction of outcomes and avoidance of unnecessary procedures and expenses.

Methods: To examine the impact of female hormonal profiles and sperm DNA damage on the success of assisted reproduction, medical data were extracted from the clinical records of infertile couples including couples' age and levels of maternal anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and prolactin (PRL), as well as the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in men.

Testicular Cells Derived Conditioned Medium Supports Germ Cell Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

Objective: There are ethical and technical challenges in studying human germ cell development. Therefore, the aim of the study is differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), as pluripotent cells, to the germ cells which is a valuable tool for studying molecular and cellular aspects of gametogenesis and understanding causes of infertility.

Materials And Methods: In this experimental study, two different complete media [Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM)+20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and embryoid bodies (EBs) medium; KOSR/HES without basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)] were used in the both of test groups using testicular cells derived conditioned medium (TCCM) and control groups spontaneously differentiated (SD).

Endometrial scratching in unexplained repeated implantation failure causes two competing forces, angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis: An RCT study.

Background: A significant association between endometrial vascularity and pregnancy has been shown in previous research, while poor vascularization was attributed to repeated implantation failure (RIF). One possible approach to enhance angiogenesis for successful implantation is endometrial scratching (ES).

Objective: The purpose was to investigate endometrial responses to scratching by profiling angiogenesis-related gene expression in unexplained RIF participants.

An Approach to Improve Endometrial Receptivity: Is It Beneficial to Flush The Uterine Cavity with Follicular Fluid and Granulosa Cells? A Phase III Randomised Clinical Trial.

Background: The follicular fluid (FF) of mature oocytes contains a high concentration of growth factors and cytokines that have the potential to influence implantation in either a paracrine or autocrine manner. During the physiological processes of ovulation, FF enters the fallopian tubes in conjunction with the oocyte. The purpose of this study is to evaluate implantation and clinical pregnancy rates following uterine flushing with FF and granulosa cells in infertile women with moderate male factor infertility after ovum retrieval for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Expression of mRNA-TLR-5 Gene in Patients with Endometriosis using Real-time PCR in Tehran, Iran.

Background: Endometriosis is one of the common diseases of women, especially in reproductive age, and it is one of the most important causes of infertility in women. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of mRNA-TLR-5 expression in women with endometriosis.

Methods: The present study was performed in Nikan Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in 2021.

The Effect of Altered and Gene Expression at The Ectopic Implantation Site and Endometrial Tissues in The Tubal Pregnancy Pathogenesis: A Case-Control Study.

Background: Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is defined as implantation and development of an embryo outside of the uterine tissue. Women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART), particularly frozen embryo transfer (FET), are in high-risk populations for EP. , fibroblast growth factor-2 , and Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor genes are involved in the endometrial receptivity pathway, leading to normal eutopic implantation; Although, their relevance in the tubal pregnancy after FET is unknown.

MACS-DGC sperm preparation method resulted in high-quality sperm, top-quality embryo, and higher blastocyst rate in male factor infertile couples with high DNA fragmented sperm.

Conventional sperm selection based on motility and morphology fails to provide detailed information on sperm functional and molecular status. Magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) protocol aims to optimize this process by selecting apoptotic sperm cells. Phospholipase C zeta-1 (PLCz1) is a physiological stimulus for oocyte activation and early embryonic development.

TLR-1, TLR-2, and TLR-6 MYD88-dependent signaling pathway: A potential factor in the interaction of high-DNA fragmentation human sperm with fallopian tube epithelial cells.

Objective: The DNA integrity of spermatozoa that attach to fallopian tube (FT) cells is higher than spermatozoa that do not attach. FT epithelial cells can distinguish normal and abnormal sperm chromatin. This study investigated the effects of sperm with a high-DNA fragmentation index (DFI) from men with unexplained repeated implantation failure (RIF) on the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway in human FT cells in vitro.

The effects of hormonal changes on sperm DNA integrity in oligoasthenoteratospermia individuals: A case-control study.

Background: Hormonal imbalance is one of the important etiological factors for Oligoasthenoteratospermias (OAT).

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of hormonal changes including prolactin, TSH, testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and anti-Mullerian hormone on sperm DNA fragmentation in normal men compared with OAT to design a clinical algorithm for the comprehensive study of male factor infertilities.

Materials And Methods: We consecutively selected 60 candidates referred to the infertility clinic to collect the semen and blood samples.

Evaluation of polyglycolic acid as an animal-free biomaterial for three-dimensional culture of human endometrial cells.

Objective: Animal-free scaffolds have emerged as a potential foundation for consistent, chemically defined, and low-cost materials. Because of its good potential for high biocompatibility with reproductive tissues and well-characterized scaffold design, we investigated whether polyglycolic acid (PGA) could be used as an animal-free scaffold instead of natural fibrin-agarose, which has been used successfully for three-dimensional human endometrial cell culture.

Methods: Isolated primary endometrial cells was cultured on fibrin-agarose and PGA polymers and evaluated various design parameters, such as scaffold porosity and mean fiber diameter.

Histopathologic evaluation of the inflammatory factors and stromal cells in the endometriosis lesions: A case-control study.

Background: Endometriosis is a multifaceted gynecological disorder defined as a benign estrogen-dependent chronic inflammatory process in which endometrial glands and stroma-like tissues are located outside the uterine cavity. It affects around 2-10% of all women during their reproductive years.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the traffic of mesenchymal stem cells and inflammatory factors toward the lesions.

Chemical modification of hyaluronic acid improves its supportive action on embryo implantation.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a supplement of the embryo transfer medium that improves embryo implantation. We have suggested that the supportive action of HA can be promoted by introducing additional artificial binding sites on the HA structure. HA was modified at carboxyl sites separately with thiol (SH) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), as mucoadhesive and amine-reactive groups, respectively.

Microfluidic chips as a method for sperm selection improve fertilization rate in couples with fertilization failure.

Purpose: Sperm quality plays a vital role in successful fertilization and pregnancy. Patients with fertilization failure (total failure or low-fertilization rate) despite having normal semen parameters are a challenging group whose sperm cannot fertilize the oocyte via the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique. Microfluidics is offered as a new method for proper sperm sorting.

GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) treatment improves sperm parameters in men with oligoasthenoteratospermia via PI3K/AKT pathway.

Poor sperm quality in oligoasthenoteratospermia patients negatively affects assisted reproductive technology outcomes. Therefore, the development of sperm media is necessary to improve sperm parameters. This study investigated the effect of GM-CSF via PI3K/AKT pathway on sperm quality in OAT patients.

Sperm-oviduct interaction: Differential gene expression of growth factors induced by sperm DNA fragmentation.

The present study investigated the effects of DNA fragmentation of spermatozoa on the growth factors expression by a human oviduct epithelial cell line (OE-E6/E7). Two separate groups were examined in this study. The cell line was cultured in the presence of spermatozoa with normal DNA fragmentation index (DFI) or abnormal DFI.

The boosting effects of melatonin on the expression of related genes to oocyte maturation and antioxidant pathways: a polycystic ovary syndrome- mouse model.

Background: Melatonin, as a free radical scavenger exhibiting genomic actions, regulates the antioxidant genes expression and apoptosis mechanisms. In polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients, an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in follicular fluid leads to oxidative stress, aberrant folliculogenesis, and intrinsic defects in PCOS oocytes. In this experimental mouse model study, oocytes of PCOS and the control groups were cultured in different melatonin concentrations (10, 10, and 10 M) to investigate the expression of oocyte maturation-related genes (Gdf9/Bmp15), antioxidant-related genes (Gpx1/Sod1), apoptotic biomarkers (Bcl2/Bax) and total intracellular ROS levels.

Differential expression of innate/adaptive immunity genes induced by endometrial scratching as a hopeful approach for implantation boosting in unexplained, repeated implantation failure: An RCT.

Background: Endometrial scratching (ES) has been proposed as a potential treatment for implantation improvement in unexplained repeated implantation failure (uRIF) patients, however, little is known about its exact molecular mechanisms.

Objective: This randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted on twenty uRIF patients to investigate the expression of innate and adaptive immune signaling genes after ES.

Methods: Ten uRIF patients in the intervention (twice endometrial sampling in follicular and luteal phases) and 10 uRIF patients in the control group (only luteal phase sampling) were randomly enrolled.

HOX cluster and their cofactors showed an altered expression pattern in eutopic and ectopic endometriosis tissues.

Endometriosis is major gynecological disease that affects over 10% of women worldwide and 30%-50% of these women have pelvic pain, abnormal uterine bleeding and infertility. The cause of endometriosis is unknown and there is no definite cure mainly because of our limited knowledge about its pathophysiology at the cellular and molecular levels. Therefore, demystifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie endometriosis is essential to develop advanced therapies for this disease.

Immunological response of fallopian tube epithelial cells to spermatozoa through modulating cytokines and chemokines.

Background: Spermatozoa interactions with fallopian tubes may influence fertilization. The purpose was to investigate cytokines, chemokines and growth factors expression from human fallopian tube epithelial cells (OE-E6/E7) exposed to spermatozoa.

Methods: Fresh semen samples were obtained from 10 healthy normozoospermic men.