Objective: To evaluate epigenetic risks linked to assisted reproductive technologies (ART) by determining the methylation status of the IGF2/H19 imprinting control region (ICR) in offspring born after ART.
Study Design: A combined bisulfite restriction analysis (COBRA) and sequencing technique were used to determine the methylation status of the IGF2/H19 ICR in 61 phenotypically normal newborns conceived by ART. Thirty naturally conceived newborns were studied as controls.
Results: There was no significant difference in methylation between ART newborns and naturally conceived newborns (46.7 ± 8.2% vs. 48.5 ± 8.7%, p>0.05). Abnormal demethylation patterns of the IGF2/H19 ICR were found in three dizygotic twins conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), but all three were phenotypically normal, and their sibling twins exhibited normal methylation patterns.
Conclusion: We hypothesize that the aberrant methylation patterns probably resulted from imprinting errors of paternal gametes or from in vitro embryo culture. Further investigation to determine whether gene expression can be regulated by other mechanisms in addition to DNA methylation would be beneficial.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2011.04.001 | DOI Listing |
Gene
January 2025
School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, School of Life Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China. Electronic address:
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used industrial compound commonly found in various everyday plastic products. Known for its endocrine-disrupting properties, BPA can enter the human body through multiple pathways. Prenatal exposure to BPA not only disrupts placental structure and function but also interferes with normal steroid metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurodev Disord
January 2025
Graduate Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
Background: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a leading known genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)-associated behaviors. A consistent and debilitating phenotype of FXS is auditory hypersensitivity that may lead to delayed language and high anxiety. Consistent with findings in FXS human studies, the mouse model of FXS, the Fmr1 knock out (KO) mouse, shows auditory hypersensitivity and temporal processing deficits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Cardiovasc Res
January 2025
Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Arrhythmias are a hallmark of myocardial infarction (MI) and increase patient mortality. How insult to the cardiac conduction system causes arrhythmias following MI is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate conduction system restoration during neonatal mouse heart regeneration versus pathological remodeling at non-regenerative stages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Assist Reprod Genet
January 2025
NHC Key Laboratory of Human Stem Cell and Reproductive Engineering, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Purpose: This study identified novel variants of the FSIP2 and SPEF2 genes in multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella (MMAF) patients and to investigate the potential effect of variations on male infertility and assisted reproductive outcomes.
Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed in 106 Chinese MMAF patients. The discovered variants were evaluated in silico and confirmed by Sanger sequencing.
Nat Genet
January 2025
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% of G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH medulloblastoma exhibits distinct and diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations and copy number gains (20% of SHH medulloblastoma).
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