The adverse effects of vitrification on mouse embryo development and metabolic phenotype in offspring.

Embryo vitrification is a standard procedure in assisted reproductive technology. Previous studies have shown that frozen embryo transfer is associated with an elevated risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. This study aimed to explore the effects of mouse blastocyst vitrification on the phenotype of vitrified-warmed blastocysts, their intrauterine and postnatal development, and the long-term metabolic health of the derived offspring.

Visualization of Balbiani Body disassembly during human primordial follicle activation.

Dormant human oocytes contain a perinuclear super-organelle, called the Balbiani Body, which is not present in mature oocytes. Here, we use confocal imaging to visualize two Balbiani Body markers-mitochondria and the DEAD-box helicase DDX4-in preantral follicles isolated from a 20-year-old female patient. In primordial follicles, mitochondria were concentrated in a ring near the oocyte nucleus, while DDX4 formed adjacent micron-scale spherical condensates.

Dissecting the spermatogonial stem cell niche using spatial transcriptomics.

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in the testis support the lifelong production of sperm. SSCs reside within specialized microenvironments called "niches," which are essential for SSC self-renewal and differentiation. However, our understanding of the molecular and cellular interactions between SSCs and niches remains incomplete.

Sperm Cryopreservation Outcomes in Transgender Adolescents Compared with Adolescents Receiving Gonadotoxic Therapy.

Purpose: The target population for fertility preservation recently has been expanded from adolescents with cancer undergoing gonadotoxic chemotherapy to include transgender youth before initiating gender-affirming hormone therapy. Patients and providers may have knowledge deficits regarding options for fertility preservation, accessibility, and feasibility of its techniques, and impact of treatment on future fertility. This study describes outcomes of sperm cryopreservation in transgender male-to-female (affirmed female) youth and compares semen parameters with adolescents diagnosed with cancer.

Chromatin Accessibility Analysis from Fresh and Cryopreserved Human Ovarian Follicles.

Understanding how gene regulatory elements influence ovarian follicle development has important implications in clinically relevant settings. This includes understanding decreased fertility with age and understanding the short-lived graft function commonly observed after ovarian tissue cryopreservation and subsequent autologous transplantation as a fertility preservation treatment. The Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin by sequencing (ATAC-seq) is a powerful tool to identify distal and proximal regulatory elements important for activity-dependent gene regulation and hormonal and environmental responses such as those involved in germ cell maturation and human fertility.

Specialist physicians' referral behavior regarding preimplantation genetic testing for single-gene disorders: Is there room to grow?

Objective: To assess whether primary care specialists' demographics, specialty, and knowledge of preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) influence their practice patterns.

Design: Cross-sectional survey study.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Potential roles of experimental reproductive technologies in infertile women with diminished ovarian reserve.

In assisted reproductive technology treatment, diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) is a condition of utmost clinical and scientific relevance because of its negative influence on patient outcomes. The current methods of infertility treatment may be unsuitable for many women with DOR, which support the need for development of additional approaches to achieve fertility restoration. Various techniques have been tried to improve the quality and increase the quantity of oocytes in DOR patients, including mitochondrial transfer, activation of primordial follicles, in vitro culture of follicles, and regeneration of oocytes from various stem cells.

Effects of Early Cumulus Cell Removal on Treatment Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Fertilization: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Early cumulus cell removal combined with early rescue intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been widely practiced in many fertilization (IVF) centers in China in order to avoid total fertilization failure. However, uncertainty remains whether the pregnancy and neonatal outcomes are associated with early cumulus cell removal.

Objectives: To investigate if early cumulus cell removal alone after 4 hours co-incubation of gametes (4 h group), has detrimental effect on the pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in patients undergoing IVF, through a comparison with conventional cumulus cell removal after 20 hours of insemination (20 h group).

Single-dose administration of a short-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist does not affect cycle outcome in frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles.

Objective: This prospective study aimed to assess the effect of short-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) administration on pregnancy outcomes in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles.

Methods: Patients who planned to have FET in Peking Union Medical College Hospital (China) were recruited for this study and randomly assigned into two groups. Patients in the experimental group (n = 460) received triptorelin acetate on the day of embryo transfer along with routine luteal support.

Controlled Ovarian Stimulation Protocols Alter Endometrial Histomorphology and Gene Expression Profiles.

Although it is well appreciated that ovarian stimulation protocols for in vitro fertilization (IVF) alter endometrial receptivity, the precise cellular mechanisms are not known. To gain insights into potential mechanisms by which different ovarian stimulation protocols alter the endometrium, we compared histologic and gene expression profiles of endometrium from women undergoing conventional ovarian stimulation for IVF (C-IVF) with those undergoing minimal stimulation with clomiphene citrate (MS-IVF). Sixteen women undergoing MS-IVF (n = 8) or C-IVF (n = 8) were recruited for endometrial biopsy at the time of oocyte retrieval.

Effect of single-dose ibuprofen on follicular fluid levels of interleukins in poor responders undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Premature follicular rupture during in vitro fertilization (IVF) is a well-known culprit for cycle cancellation. We sought to evaluate whether a single oral dose of ibuprofen will have an effect on the follicular fluid (FF) levels of inflammatory markers involved in ovulation. This is a prospective within-subjects study following nine patients undergoing IVF.

Use of Clomiphene Citrate in minimal stimulation in vitro fertilization negatively impacts endometrial thickness: an argument for a freeze-all approach.

Objective: Minimal stimulation IVF is a treatment option that uses clomiphene citrate (CC). We sought to evaluate how CC impacts endometrial thickness during minimal stimulation IVF cycles.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 230 cycles in 119 poor ovarian response patients.

Effect of Body Weight on Metabolic Hormones and Fatty Acid Metabolism in Follicular Fluid of Women Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: Obesity is an epidemic affecting more than one-third of adults in the United States. Obese women experience decreased fertility, explained in part by oocyte quality. Since follicular fluid (FF) provides an important microenvironment for oocyte growth, we sought to evaluate the effect of increased body weight on FF levels of 11 metabolic hormones and fatty acid metabolism.

Androgens Upregulate Endometrial Epithelial Progesterone Receptor Expression: Potential Implications for Endometriosis.

Background: Androgenic compounds have been implicated in induction of endometrial atrophy yet the mechanisms of androgen effects on human endometrium have not been well studied. We hypothesized that androgens may promote their endometrial effects via modulation of progesterone receptor (PR) expression.

Methods: Proliferative phase endometrial samples were collected at the time of hysterectomy.

Shifting paradigms in diminished ovarian reserve and advanced reproductive age in assisted reproduction: customization instead of conformity.

As women are increasingly delaying childbearing into their 30s and beyond, diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and advanced reproductive age (ARA) patients are bound to become a large proportion of all assisted reproductive technology practices. Traditional controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) protocols for DOR and/or ARA have had some limited success, but pregnancy rates are lower and cycle cancellation rates are higher than their younger counterparts with normal ovarian reserve. Though many physicians have a selection of favorite standard protocols that they use, patients with DOR may require closer monitoring and customization of the treatment cycle to address the common problems that come with low ovarian reserve.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection indications: how rigorous?

Up to 15% of all couples of reproductive age are diagnosed with subfertility and about one-third of those will have male factor infertility as a contributing factor. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has proven to be invaluable for couples with severely compromised semen parameters. Since its introduction into the clinical practice in 1992, the indications for ICSI were dramatically expanded to include various patient populations with normal or mildly abnormal semen parameters.

Female obesity and assisted reproductive technologies.

Obesity has grown to epidemic proportions, and currently nearly half of the reproductive-age women are overweight or obese. Risks, success rates, and economic aspects of infertility treatments in obese women have been extensively investigated. Unfavorable ovarian stimulation characteristics like increased gonadotropin consumption, fewer selected follicles, and lower number of retrieved oocytes have been observed in obese women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

The extrapituitary effects of GnRH antagonists and their potential clinical implications: a narrated review.

Potential roles of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists on GnRH/GnRH receptor systems and their effects on the extrapituitary tissues are largely elusive. In this narrated review, we summarized the systemic effects of GnRH antagonists on ovary, endometrium, embryo implantation, placental development, fetal teratogenicity, reproductive tissue cancer cells, and heart while briefly reviewing the GnRH and GnRH receptor system. GnRH antagonists may have direct effects on ovarian granulosa cells.

Endometrial miR-200c is altered during transformation into cancerous states and targets the expression of ZEBs, VEGFA, FLT1, IKKβ, KLF9, and FBLN5.

A number of microRNAs (miRNAs), including miR-200 family, are aberrantly expressed in endometriosis and endometrial cancer. Here we assessed the expression and functional aspects of miR-200c in endometrial tissues (N = 52) from normal endometrial biopsies (N = 15), endometrial tissues including those exposed to hormonal therapies (N = 20), and grade I-III endometrial cancer (N = 17). miR-200c expression was elevated in normal endometrial biopsies from mid- and late-luteal phase, and in endometrial tumors as compared to endometrial tissues from peri- and postmenopausal period (P < .

Sperm DNA damage: how relevant is it clinically?

Purpose Of Review: The true impact of the current sperm DNA fragmentation testing needs further scrutiny to assess whether clinically meaningful information is conveyed.

Recent Findings: Various studies have suggested different or no threshold values with assorted tests for the percentage of DNA fragmentation in the ejaculated sperm above which natural conception, fertilization or embryo development and/or clinical pregnancy rates are compromised. Current DNA fragmentation assessment methods provide very little specific information on the nature and severity of the DNA damage detected.

The effect of increasing obesity on the response to and outcome of assisted reproductive technology: a national study.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of increasing female obesity on response to and outcome of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment.

Design: Historical cohort study.

Setting: Clinic-based data.