Hepatitis B virus in oocytes and embryos: pregnancy outcomes and children's health.

Objective: To investigate whether the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in oocytes and embryos affects pregnancy outcomes for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (ET) as well as is related to the vertical transmission of HBV to children.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A university-affiliated fertility center.

Ovarian response determines the luteinizing hormone suppression threshold for patients following the gonadotrophin releasing hormone antagonist protocol: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Ovarian reactivity to gonadotrophin stimulation varies, and individual adjustments to the timing and dose of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist administration are necessary to prevent excessive increases and decreases in luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in patients with different ovarian response following the GnRH antagonist (GnRH-A) protocol. The present study aims to investigate optimal LH suppression thresholds for patients with normal ovarian response (NOR), high ovarian response (HOR), and poor ovarian response (POR) following the GnRH-A protocol respectively.

Methods: A total of 865 in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles using a flexible or fixed GnRH-A protocol were included.

ALKBH5 controls the meiosis-coupled mRNA clearance in oocytes by removing the N -methyladenosine methylation.

N-methyladenosine (mA) maintains maternal RNA stability in oocytes. One regulator of mA, ALKBH5, reverses mA deposition and is essential in RNA metabolism. However, the specific role of ALKBH5 in oocyte maturation remains elusive.

LncRNA landscape and associated ceRNA network in placental villus of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Background: Unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) is one of the most challenging conditions frustrates women of childbearing age profoundly. The gene expression patterns and biological characteristics of placental villus in patients with URSA remain largely unknown. The aim of our study was to identify potential lncRNAs as well as their action mechanisms in URSA.

Interleukin-1 increases cyclooxygenase-2 expression and prostaglandin E2 production in human granulosa-lutein cell via nuclear factor kappa B/P65 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 signaling pathways.

A multitude of cytokines have been reported to participate in the folliculogenesis process in female. Interleukin-1 (IL-1), belonging to interleukin family, is originally identified as an important immune factor involved in inflammation response. Besides the immunity system, IL-1 is also expressed in reproductive system.

Risk of Higher Blood Pressure in 3 to 6 Years Old Singleton Born From OHSS Patients Undergone With Fresh IVF/ICSI.

Background: A large registry-based study found the increasing disorders of cardiovascular and metabolism in IVF children but underlying mechanism is still unknown. Few studies have investigated any association between OHSS and cardiovascular or metabolic function in subsequent children.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) on blood pressure of singletons after fertilization (IVF) with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Fetal Reduction Could Improve but Not Completely Reverse the Pregnancy Outcomes of Multiple Pregnancies: Experience From a Single Center.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness and limitations of multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) on the improvement of pregnancy outcomes of triplet or twin pregnancies conceived by fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Methods: We performed a cohort study of women undergoing IVF or ICSI from 2002-2016 in reproductive center, women's hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The cohort included 502 women who underwent MFPR and 9641 non-reduced women.

LARS2 Regulates Apoptosis via ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Ovarian Granulosa Cells.

Several studies have indicated that mutations of LARS2 are associated with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). However, the pathogenic mechanism of LARS2 in POI has not been reported yet. In the present study, the expression levels of LARS2 and E2F1 in granulosa cells (GCs) of POI patients were examined.

circRNA-DURSA regulates trophoblast apoptosis via miR-760-HIST1H2BE axis in unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) is one of the most intractable clinical challenges in reproduction. As a specific type of endogenous non-coding RNA, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have great pre-clinical diagnostic and therapeutic values in diseases. Recently, thousands of circRNAs were detected in human pre-implantation embryos, indicating that circRNAs potentially have important regulatory functions.

Loss of miR-29a impairs decidualization of endometrial stromal cells by TET3 mediated demethylation of Col1A1 promoter.

A conceptual framework for understanding abnormal endometrial decidualization, with considerable significance for the diagnosis and treatment of abnormal decidualization-related changes in non-receptive endometrium in implantation failure during early pregnancy is very important. Here, we found the expression levels of miR-29a in endometrial tissues were associated with the menstrual phases and pregnancy outcome. Inhibition of miR-29a led to decreased decidualization of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) , whereas Tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 3 (TET3) and its potential demethylation target, the collagen type I alpha 1 chain (Col1A1), were restored.

The BMP2 Signaling Axis Promotes Invasive Differentiation of Human Trophoblasts.

Embryo implantation and trophoblast invasion are principal limiting factors of pregnancy establishment. Aberrant embryo development or improper trophoblast differentiation and invasion may lead to various unfavorable pregnancy-related outcomes, including early pregnancy loss (EPL). Our clinical data show that the serum BMP2 levels were significantly increased during the first trimester of pregnancy and that the serum and BMP2 expression levels were lower in women with EPL than in women with normal early pregnancies.

N-methyladenosine-modified CircRNA-SORE sustains sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating β-catenin signaling.

Background And Aims: Accumulating evidence suggests that the primary and acquired resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to sorafenib is mediated by multiple molecular, cellular, and microenvironmental mechanisms. Understanding these mechanisms will enhance the likelihood of effective sorafenib therapy.

Methods: In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed and clinical samples and online databases were acquired for clinical investigation.

Impact of maternal prepregnancy body mass index on cognitive and metabolic profiles of singletons born after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of elevated maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) on intelligence and growth of singletons after in vitro fertilization (IVF) with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: University hospital.

Non-starch constituents influence the in vitro digestibility of naked oat (Avena nuda L.) starch.

The present study investigated the effects of proteins, lipids and β-glucan in naked oat flour (NOF) on the in vitro digestibility of starch. The content of rapidly digested starch (RDS) increased, and the content of resistant starch (RS) decreased in NOF after removing the non-starch constituents. The estimated glycemic index (eGI) of starch in NOF increased after the removal of the non-starch constituents, with a decreasing order of naked oat starch (NOS) > de-β-glucan flour > de-proteins flour > de-lipids flour > NOF.

Purification, characterization and tyrosinase inhibition activity of polysaccharides from chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) kernel.

The present paper aimed to obtain the polysaccharides with potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity from chestnut kernel. The ultrasound extracted polysaccharide fractions 1-1 (UEP1-1) and UEP2-1 were obtained by successive ultrasound-assisted-extraction, DEAE-52 and Sephadex G-100 chromatography. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum revealed that both UEP1-1 and UEP2-1 had the characteristic absorption peaks of polysaccharides.

A potential role of galectin-1 in promoting mouse trophoblast stem cell differentiation.

Galectin-1 is highly expressed in blastocysts and trophoblast giant cells during implantation, and dysregulated galectin-1 is associated with many pregnancy-related abnormalities. Elevated galectin-1 contributes to cancer cells invasion. Here, we found that galectin-1 is expressed in mouse oocytes, preimplantation embryos (all stages), and trophoblast stem (TS) cells.

[The involvement of galectin-1 in implantation and pregnancy maintenance at the maternal-fetal interface].

As a member of galectins family, galectin-1(Gal-1)is widely expressed in tissues and cells, and participates in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, such as cell adhesion, proliferation, apoptosis and inflammatory reaction. Recently, it has been found that Gal-1 is highly expressed at the maternal-fetal interface and plays important roles in trophoblast cell proliferation, differentiation and invasion, endometrial receptivity, placental angiogenesis and maternal-fetal immune tolerance. In this review, we outline the expression of Gal-1 at the maternal-fetal interface and the involvement of Gal-1 in embryo implantation and pregnancy maintenance, to provide novel insights for the early diagnosis, prognostic assessment and treatment of early pregnancy loss and pregnancy-related diseases.

Increasing AR by HIF-2α inhibitor (PT-2385) overcomes the side-effects of sorafenib by suppressing hepatocellular carcinoma invasion via alteration of pSTAT3, pAKT and pERK signals.

Although sorafenib is currently used as a standard treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, low response rate, transient and limited efficacy, primary and acquired resistance and negative side-effects gain increasing attentions, suggesting the need for better efficacious combination therapy. Here, we demonstrated that the sorafenib-induced or hypoxia-induced hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-2α could bind to an hypoxia responsive element within 500 bp region of androgen receptor (AR) promoter and thus transcriptionally suppress AR. Importantly, In vitro and In vivo studies suggested a specific and potent HIF-2α inhibitor, PT-2385, could significantly enhance sorafenib efficacy by suppressing HIF-2α, increasing AR and suppressing downstream pSTAT3/pAKT/pERK pathways.

Impact of Galectin-1 on Trophoblast Stem Cell Differentiation and Invasion in In Vitro Implantation Model.

Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) differentiate in an orderly manner, which plays an important role in the process of embryo implantation, placentation, and early pregnancy maintenance. At the maternal-fetal interface, the dialogue is crucial between trophoblast cells and endometrial epithelial cells. Previous studies suggested that galectin-1 (Gal-1) may play an important role in placental development.

Different therapeutic approaches on quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: The chronic nature of inflammatory bowel disease leads to considerable impairment on the health related quality of life (HRQOL). The aims of the present study are to validate the mainland Chinese translation of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (MCIBDQ), and to evaluate the impact of infliximab treatment on HRQOL in patients with IBD for the first time in China, as compared with other therapies of different levels. Furthermore, the impact of different medical therapies on marriage, employment and economic burden in IBD patients were also evaluated.

Trends and Factors Affecting Hospitalization Costs in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Two-Center Study over the Past Decade.

With the growing number of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and hospitalization cases, the overall medical care cost elevates significantly in consequence. A total of 2458 hospitalizations, involving 1401 patients with IBD, were included from two large medical centers. Hospitalization costs and factors impacting cost changes were determined.