Distinct follicular and luteal transcriptional profiles in engineered human ectocervical tissue dependent on menstrual cycle phase

Candidate genes for infertility: an in-silico study based on cytogenetic analysis

Background

The cause of infertility remains unclear in a significant proportion of reproductive-age couples who fail to conceive naturally. Chromosomal aberrations have been identified as one of the main genetic causes of male and female infertility. Structural chromosomal aberrations may disrupt the functioning of various genes, some of which may be important for fertility. The present study aims to identify candidate genes and putative functional interaction networks involved in male and female infertility using cytogenetic data from cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes of infertile patients.

Methods

Karyotypic analyses was done in 201 infertile patients (100 males and 101 females) and 201 age and gender matched healthy controls (100 males and 101 females) after 72 h peripheral lymphocyte culturing and GTG banding, followed by bioinformatic analysis using Cytoscape v3.8.2 and Metascape.

Results

Several chromosomal regions with a significantly higher frequency of structural aberrations were identified in the infertile males (5q2, 10q2, and 17q2) and females (6q2, 16q2, and Xq2). Segregation of the patients based on type of infertility (primary v/s secondary infertility) led to the identification of chromosomal regions with a significantly higher frequency of structural aberrations exclusively within the infertile males (5q2, 17q2) and females (16q2) with primary infertility. Cytoscape identified two networks specific to these regions: a male specific network with 99 genes and a female specific network with 109 genes. The top enriched GO terms within the male and female infertility networks were “skeletal system morphogenesis” and “mRNA transport” respectively. PSME3, PSMD3, and CDC27 were the top 3 hub genes identified within the male infertility network. Similarly, UPF3B, IRF8, and PSMB1 were the top 3 hub genes identified with the female infertility network. Among the hub genes identified in the male- and female-specific networks, PSMB1, PSMD3, and PSME3 are functional components of the proteasome complex. These hub genes have a limited number of reports related to their respective roles in maintenance of fertility in mice model and humans and require validation in further studies.

Conclusion

The candidate genes predicted in the present study can serve as targets for future research on infertility.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12920-022-01320-x.

COVID-19 chez les femmes utilisant un traitement hormonal: quelles préventions?

La mortalité de l’infection SARS-Cov-2 semble plus élevée chez les hommes comparativement aux femmes.

Les femmes ont une réponse immunitaire plus efficace, intense et prolongée à la fois vis-à-vis de l’immunité humorale (stimulée par l’estradiol) mais aussi cellulaire induisant des niveaux élevées d’anticorps.

L’expression de l’enzyme de conversion de l’angiotensine II est stimulée par les estrogènes.

L’infection par elle-même entraine des modifications de la coagulation.

Les traitements hormonaux (contraception estroprogestative, traitement hormonal de ménopause, traitement hormonal adjuvant dans un contexte de cancer du sein) modifient la coagulation.

Des recommandations de sociétés savantes ont été émises afin de prévenir les évènements thromboemboliques chez les femmes utilisatrices de ces traitements hormonaux.