AI Article Synopsis

  • Assisted reproductive technology (ART) may impact fetal development by influencing the epigenetic processes that occur during the crucial period between fertilization and embryo implantation.
  • A study compared DNA methylation patterns in cord blood from 962 ART-conceived and 983 naturally conceived newborns, revealing significant differences in methylation levels, with ART newborns exhibiting less methylation overall.
  • The research identified 607 differentially methylated regions, affecting 176 genes linked to growth and neurodevelopment, and these associations remained consistent regardless of parental DNA methylation or subfertility factors.

Article Abstract

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) may affect fetal development through epigenetic mechanisms as the timing of ART procedures coincides with the extensive epigenetic remodeling occurring between fertilization and embryo implantation. However, it is unknown to what extent ART procedures alter the fetal epigenome. Underlying parental characteristics and subfertility may also play a role. Here we identify differences in cord blood DNA methylation, measured using the Illumina EPIC platform, between 962 ART conceived and 983 naturally conceived singleton newborns. We show that ART conceived newborns display widespread differences in DNA methylation, and overall less methylation across the genome. There were 607 genome-wide differentially methylated CpGs. We find differences in 176 known genes, including genes related to growth, neurodevelopment, and other health outcomes that have been associated with ART. Both fresh and frozen embryo transfer show DNA methylation differences. Associations persist after controlling for parents' DNA methylation, and are not explained by parental subfertility.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8989983PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29540-wDOI Listing

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