Integrated Analysis of Hub Genes and MicroRNAs in Human Placental Tissues from In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer

Cardiovascular health of offspring conceived by assisted reproduction technology: a comprehensive review

Recently, the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has rapidly increased. As a result, an increasing number of people are concerned about the safety of offspring produced through ART. Moreover, emerging evidence suggests an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in offspring conceived using ART. In this review, we discuss the epigenetic mechanisms involved in altered DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNA expression, as well as imprinting disorders. We also summarize studies on cardiovascular changes and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as adverse intrauterine environments, perinatal complications, and altered metabolism following assisted reproductive technology (ART). Finally, we emphasize the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the increased risk of CVD in offspring conceived through ART, which could contribute to the early diagnosis and prevention of CVD in the ART population.

A validated model for individualized prediction of pregnancy outcome in woman after fresh cycle of Day 5 single blastocyst transfer

The association between the embryo quality, clinical characteristics, miRNAs (secreted by blastocysts in the culture medium) and pregnancy outcomes has been well-established. Studies on prediction models for pregnancy outcome, using clinical characteristics and miRNA expression, are limited. We aimed to establish the prediction model for prediction of pregnancy outcome of woman after a fresh cycle of Day 5 single blastocyst transfer (Day 5 SBT) based on clinical data and miRNA expression. A total of 86 women, 50 with successful pregnancy and 36 with pregnancy failure after fresh cycle of Day 5 SBT, were enrolled in this study. All samples were divided into training set and test set (3:1). Based on clinical index statistics of enrolled population and miRNA expression, the prediction model was constructed, followed by validation of the prediction model. Four clinical indicators, female age, sperm DNA fragmentation index, anti-mullerian hormone, estradiol, can be used as independent predictors of pregnancy failure after fresh cycle of Day 5 SBT. Three miRNAs (hsa-miR-199a-3p, hsa-miR-199a-5p and hsa-miR-99a-5p) had a potential diagnostic value for pregnancy failure after Day 5 SBT. The predictive effect of model combining 4 clinical indicators and 3 miRNAs (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUC = 0.853) was better than models combining single 4 clinical indicators (AUC = 0.755) or 3 miRNAs (AUC = 0.713). Based on 4 clinical indicators and 3 miRNAs, a novel model to predict pregnancy outcome in woman after fresh cycle of Day 5 SBT has been developed and validated. The predictive model may be valuable for clinicians to make the optimal clinical decision and patient selection.

Common Genetic Factors and Pathways in Alzheimer's Disease and Ischemic Stroke: Evidences from GWAS

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and ischemic stroke (IS) are common neurological disorders, and the comorbidity of these two brain diseases is often seen. Although AD and IS were regarded as two distinct disease entities, in terms of different etiologies and clinical presentation, recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) revealed that there were common risk genes between AD and IS, indicating common molecular pathways and their common pathophysiology. In this review, we summarize AD and IS risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their representative genes from the GWAS Catalog database, and find thirteen common risk genes, but no common risk SNPs. Furthermore, the common molecular pathways associated with these risk gene products are summarized from the GeneCards database and clustered into inflammation and immunity, G protein-coupled receptor, and signal transduction. At least seven of these thirteen genes can be regulated by 23 microRNAs identified from the TargetScan database. Taken together, the imbalance of these molecular pathways may give rise to these two common brain disorders. This review sheds light on the pathogenesis of comorbidity of AD and IS, and provides molecular targets for disease prevention, manipulation, and brain health maintenance.

Association of extended culture to blastocyst and pre-malignant gestational trophoblastic disease risk following IVF/ICSI-assisted reproduction cycles: an analysis of large UK national database

PURPOSE

To assess whether there is an association between extended in vitro culture based on embryo developmental stage at transfer and pre-malignant gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) risk of molar pregnancy during assisted reproduction.

METHODS

A retrospective study was carried out using Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) anonymized register from 1999 to 2016. A total of 540,376 cycles were eligible to be included in the study after excluding any kind of donor treatment or surrogacy, frozen embryo transfers, and cycles with incomplete data. Subgroup analysis was carried out in subjects with primary infertility aiming to exclude an increased risk in those with a previous GTD. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounders, and the effect of day of embryo transfer in IVF (in vitro fertilization)/ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) treatment on a molar pregnancy GTD outcome was analyzed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of a molar pregnancy GTD among the study population was 3.4/10,000 livebirths (53/156,683) with a higher risk in the over 40 age category. No significant difference of pre-malignant GTD incidence was seen between IVF and ICSI (0.01% vs 0.009% respectively). No association was seen with GTD based on type/cause of infertility or number of embryos transferred. Crude (1.06; 95% CI 0.852-1.31) and adjusted (1.07; 95% CI (0.857-1.32) odds ratios were calculated to see an association between day of embryo transfer and the occurrence of a GTD. There was no association between day of embryo transfer and molar GTD risk after adjusting for age and secondary infertility.

CONCLUSION

No significant association between pre-malignant molar gestational trophoblastic disease and extended in vitro embryo culture was found after analyzing 540,376 cycles of IVF and ICSI.

OUP accepted manuscript

Recognition of mammalian mitochondrial promoters requires the concerted action of mitochondrial RNA polymerase (mtRNAP) and transcription initiation factors TFAM and TFB2M. In this work, we found that transcript slippage results in heterogeneity of the human mitochondrial transcripts in vivo and in vitro. This allowed us to correctly interpret the RNAseq data, identify the bona fide transcription start sites (TSS), and assign mitochondrial promoters for > 50% of mammalian species and some other vertebrates. The divergent structure of the mammalian promoters reveals previously unappreciated aspects of mtDNA evolution. The correct assignment of TSS also enabled us to establish the precise register of the DNA in the initiation complex and permitted investigation of the sequence-specific protein-DNA interactions. We determined the molecular basis of promoter recognition by mtRNAP and TFB2M, which cooperatively recognize bases near TSS in a species-specific manner. Our findings reveal a role of mitochondrial transcription machinery in mitonuclear coevolution and speciation.