Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Improves Ovarian Function and Oocyte Quality in Aged Mice.

Background/aim: Age-related decline in the number of ovulations and ovum quality are major causes of female infertility, and stem cells have been reported to be effective in tissue regeneration. However, current therapeutic modalities are inadequate. This study investigated the effects of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) on ovarian functions in aged mice.

Female zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics induces reproductive toxicity in mother and their offspring.

Nanoplastics (NPs) have been commonly detected in aquatic ecosystems, and their negative effects on aquatic organisms have raised concerns in the scientific community and general public. The acute toxicity, neurotoxicity, and metabolic toxicity induced by NPs on fishes have been reported by many studies, although less attention has been focused on how mother exposed to NPs affected their offspring in aquatic organisms. Here, female zebrafish (F0) were exposed to 0, 200 and 2000 μg/L polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) for 42 d, with their offspring (F1) reared in clear water until sexual maturity.

Dietary methionine functions in proliferative zone maintenance and egg production via sams-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The maintenance of germ cells is critical for the prosperity of offspring. The amount of food consumption is known to be closely related to reproduction, i.e.

An expert opinion on rescuing atypically pronucleated human zygotes by molecular genetic fertilization checks in IVF.

IVF laboratories routinely adopt morphological pronuclear assessment at the zygote stage to identify abnormally fertilized embryos deemed unsuitable for clinical use. In essence, this is a pseudo-genetic test for ploidy motivated by the notion that biparental diploidy is required for normal human life and abnormal ploidy will lead to either failed implantation, miscarriage, or significant pregnancy complications, including molar pregnancy and chorionic carcinoma. Here, we review the literature associated with ploidy assessment of human embryos derived from zygotes displaying a pronuclear configuration other than the canonical two, and the related pregnancy outcome following transfer.

Glucose metabolism disorder related to follicular fluid exosomal miR-122-5p in cumulus cells of endometriosis patients.

In Brief: Elevated expression of miR-122-5p in exosomes in the follicular fluid of patients with endometriosis impairs glucose metabolism in cumulus cells and may further impair oocyte quality.

Abstract: Endometriosis (EMs) affects fertility in women of childbearing age in many ways. The underlying mechanisms, including the decrease in oocyte quality, require further investigation.

Oocyte donors' experience and expectations in a non-profit fertility care setting.

Purpose: In this survey, we aimed to provide the description of previous oocyte donors' profile in a Belgian tertiary fertility hospital clinic. The research question is as follows: could certain aspects be changed or improved, according to previous oocyte donors? The final purpose is to boost adherence to future oocyte donation (OD) programs, given the large gap between supply and demand.

Methods: We set up an observational cross-sectional study of oocyte donors who were recruited in a tertiary referral hospital.

Oocyte-specific EXOC5 expression is required for mouse oogenesis and folliculogenesis.

EXOC5 is a crucial component of a large multi-subunit tethering complex, the exocyst complex, that is required for fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane. Exoc5 deleted mice die as early embryos. Therefore, to determine the role of EXOC5 in follicular and oocyte development, it was necessary to produce a conditional knockout (cKO), Zp3-Exoc5-cKO, in which Exoc5 was deleted only in oocytes.

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).

Molecular Mechanisms Determining Mammalian Oocyte Quality with the Treatment of Cancer Therapy.

Cancer is a global public health issue and remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States (Siegel et al. CA Cancer J Clin. 72:7-33, 2022).

Mechanisms of DNA Damage Response in Mammalian Oocytes.

DNA damage poses a significant challenge to all eukaryotic cells, leading to mutagenesis, genome instability and senescence. In somatic cells, the failure to repair damaged DNA can lead to cancer development, whereas, in oocytes, it can lead to ovarian dysfunction and infertility. The response of the cell to DNA damage entails a series of sequential and orchestrated events including sensing the DNA damage, activating DNA damage checkpoint, chromatin-related conformational changes, activating the DNA damage repair machinery and/or initiating the apoptotic cascade.

Clinical outcomes of vitrified-warmed autologous oocyte cycles with 15-year follow-up at a single UK centre: consistent and predictable results.

Research Question: What were the clinical outcomes from 332 autologous vitrified- warmed oocyte cycles derived from 3182 elective autologous oocyte freeze cycles carried out between 2008 and 2022 in a single-centre series?

Design: In this retrospective observational study, outcomes in 299 patients returning to use their frozen oocytes between 2015 and 2023 were analysed.

Results: A total of 3328 elective oocyte vitrification cycles were performed in 2280 patients. The return rate to use oocytes was 14% (299/2171).

MIB2 Functions in Oocyte Meiosis by Modulating Chromatin Configuration.

Chromatin configuration serves as a principal indicator of GV (germinal vesicle)-stage oocyte quality. However, the underlying mechanisms governing the chromatin configuration transition from NSN (non-surrounded nucleolus) to SN (surrounded nucleolus) remain unclear. In this study, by conducting a quantitative proteomic analysis, we identified an increased expression of the MIB2 (MIB E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 2) protein in SN oocytes.

Granulosa cell metabolism at ovulation correlates with oocyte competence and is disrupted by obesity and aging.

Study Question: Is oocyte developmental competence associated with changes in granulosa cell (GC) metabolism?

Summary Answer: GC metabolism is regulated by the LH surge, altered by obesity and reproductive aging, and, in women, specific metabolic profiles are associated with failed fertilization versus increased blastocyst development.

What Is Known Already: The cellular environment in which an oocyte matures is critical to its future developmental competence. Metabolism is emerging as a potentially important factor; however, relative energy production profiles between GCs and cumulus cells and their use of differential substrates under normal in vivo ovulatory conditions are not well understood.

The usefulness of peri-trigger female reproductive hormones (delta-FRH) in predicting oocyte maturation in normal ovarian reserve patients who received fertilization-embryo transfer: a retrospective study.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of peri-trigger female reproductive hormones (FRHs) in the prediction of oocyte maturation in normal ovarian reserve patients during the fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) procedure.

Materials And Methods: A hospital database was used to extract data on IVF-ET cases from January 2020 to September 2021. The levels of female reproductive hormones, including estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone (P), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), were initially evaluated at baseline, the day of the trigger, the day after the trigger, and the day of oocyte retrieval.

Total gonadotropin dose did not affect euploid blastocyst rates: an analysis of more than 19,000 oocytes.

Background: To evaluate whether increasing total gonadotropin (Gn) dose is associated with changes in euploid blastocyst rate in preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) oocytes.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between 2017 and 2022, and 19,246 oocytes were grouped and analyzed based on tri-sectional quantiles of total Gn doses.

Setting: Single reproductive medical center.

BCORL1, POF1B, and USP9X copy number variation in women with idiopathic diminished ovarian reserve.

Purpose: To analyze the copy number variation (CNV) in the X-linked genes BCORL1, POF1B, and USP9X in idiopathic diminished ovarian reserve (DOR).

Methods: This case-control study included 47 women, 26 with DOR and 21 in the control group. Age, weight, height, BMI, and FSH level were evaluated, as well as antral follicle count (AFC), oocyte retrieval after controlled ovarian stimulation, and metaphase II (MII) oocytes.

Live birth after vitrification of oocytes from capacitation in vitro maturation.

Female fertility preservation is a rapidly growing field in medicine. Oocyte cryopreservation and assisted reproductive technique with vitrified-warmed oocytes have been successful with in vivo matured oocytes after conventional ovarian stimulation protocols. The use of in vitro matured oocytes after vitrification and warming has been limited.

Depletion of placental brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is attributed to premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) in mice offspring.

Introduction: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is one of the causes of female infertility. Unexplained POI is increasingly affecting women in their reproductive years. However, the etiology of POI is diverse and remains elusive.

Oocyte biology: Perhaps chromosomal glue can be reapplied.

Meiotic cohesion loss underlies elevated rates of infertility and chromosome abnormalities in children of older women. A new study shows that cohesins are turned over throughout meiotic prophase, suggesting that cohesion loss is likely not solely due to early establishment of cohesion.

Exploring the benefit of different methods to perform assisted hatching in the ART laboratory: A narrative review.

In the last decades, to enhance success rates in assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles, scientists have continually tried to optimize embryo culture and selection to increase clinical outcomes. In this scenario, the application of laser technology has increased considerably worldwide and is currently applied across ART in several ways: for assisted hatching (AH) or thinning of the zona pellucida (ZP), embryo biopsy, to immobilize and select the sperm during intracytoplasmic sperm injection, as well as to induce artificial blastocyst shrinkage before cryopreservation. Laser-AH has been suggested as a procedure to improve embryo implantation: the concept is that drilling holes through or thinning of the ZP could improve the hatching process and implantation.

Maternal mRNA deadenylation is defective in in vitro matured mouse and human oocytes.

Oocyte in vitro maturation is a technique in assisted reproductive technology. Thousands of genes show abnormally high expression in in vitro maturated metaphase II (MII) oocytes compared to those matured in vivo in bovines, mice, and humans. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood.

maturation of oocytes in light of ovarian mitochondrial improvement: effectiveness and safety.

maturation of oocytes (IVM) represents an assisted reproductive technique that involves the minimal or absence of ovarian stimulation and is beneficial to specific groups of patients. These may include women with polycystic ovarian syndrome and/or patients who need a fertility preservation option before undergoing gonadotoxic treatment. However, when IVM is applied in cases where it is not recommended, it can be considered as an add-on technique, as described by the ESHRE Guideline Group on Female Fertility Preservation.

Meiotic maturation failure in primary ovarian insufficiency: insights from a bovine model.

Purpose: Oocytes from women presenting primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) generate viable embryos at a lower rate than non-POI women, but the mechanisms responsible for the lower oocyte quality remain elusive. Due to the scarcity of human oocytes for research, animal models provide a promising way forward. We aimed at investigating the molecular events characterizing final maturation in POI oocytes in a well-defined POI-like bovine model.