Exclusive generation of rat spermatozoa in sterile mice utilizing blastocyst complementation with pluripotent stem cells

Blastocyst complementation denotes a technique that aims to generate organs, tissues, or cell types in animal chimeras via injection of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) into genetically compromised blastocyst-stage embryos. Here, we report on successful complementation of the male germline in adult chimeras following injection of mouse or rat PSCs into mouse blastocysts carrying a mutation in Tsc22d3, an essential gene for spermatozoa production. Injection of mouse PSCs into Tsc22d3-Knockout (KO) blastocysts gave rise to intraspecies chimeras exclusively embodying PSC-derived functional spermatozoa. In addition, injection of rat embryonic stem cells (rESCs) into Tsc22d3-KO embryos produced interspecies mouse-rat chimeras solely harboring rat spermatids and spermatozoa capable of fertilizing oocytes. Furthermore, using single-cell RNA sequencing, we deconstructed rat spermatogenesis occurring in a mouse-rat chimera testis. Collectively, this study details a method for exclusive xenogeneic germ cell production in vivo, with implications that may extend to rat transgenesis, or endangered animal species conservation efforts.

Brilliant cresyl blue enhanced optoacoustic imaging enables non-destructive imaging of mammalian ovarian follicles for artificial reproduction

In the field of reproductive biology, there is a strong need for a suitable tool capable of non-destructive evaluation of oocyte viability and function. We studied the application of brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) as an intra-vital exogenous contrast agent using multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) for visualization of porcine ovarian follicles. The technique provided excellent molecular sensitivity, enabling the selection of competent oocytes without disrupting the follicles. We further conducted in vitro embryo culture, molecular analysis (real-time and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) and DNA fragmentation analysis to comprehensively establish the safety of BCB-enhanced MSOT imaging in monitoring oocyte viability. Overall, the experimental results suggest that the method offers a significant advance in the use of contrast agents and molecular imaging for reproductive studies. Our technique improves the accurate prediction of ovarian reserve significantly and, once standardized for in vivo imaging, could provide an effective tool for clinical infertility management.

Age-Specific Distribution of Serum Anti-Mullerian Hormone and Antral Follicle Count in Indian Infertile Women

BACKGROUND

Ovarian reserve declines with age. However, there are considerable ethnic differences in the decline of ovarian reserve between individuals.

AIM

This study aimed to make age-specific percentile charts of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC) in Indian infertile women and to find the proportion of young women with low ovarian reserve.

SETTING AND DESIGN

This was a retrospective data analysis of AMH and AFC of 5525 infertile women from August 2015 to December 2018.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Infertile women aged 20- 44 years, with body mass index 18-32 kg/m2 and having both ovaries were included in the study. Women with pituitary/adrenal disorders, malignancy, total AFC >40, tuberculosis, endometriosis, autoimmune disorders, smoking, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and recent ovarian surgery were excluded from the study.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Comparison between groups was done by Chi-square test.

RESULTS

About 14.5% of women <35 years and 50.5% of women >35 years had low AMH values (<1.1 ng/ml). In addition, 5.6% of women <35 years and 23.6% of women >35 years had a low AFC of ≤5. In this study, 55.7% of women who had low AMH and 50.7% who had low AFC were <35 years of age. The median AMH values were 4.23 ng/mL in 20-25 years' age group, 3.48 ng/mL in women aged 26-30 years, 2.43 ng/mL in women aged 31-35 years, 1.28 ng/mL in women aged 36-40 years and0.52 ng/mL in 40-44 years' age group. The median AFCs were 20, 18, 14, 10 and 6 for each of the age groups, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that approximately more than half of the infertile women who were tested to have low ovarian reserve were <35 years of age.

The impact of the method of genetic identity disclosure on the donor conceived adult

Aim: 106 donor conceived people (DCP) responded to an anonymous survey study that examined the impact of the method of genetic identity disclosure and age at the time of the disclosure on their emotional wellbeing, familial relations, and perceptions of donor conception practices.Methods: Participants were asked to select the way in which they were informed they are DCP and the age group at which this occurred, and then were asked to select strongly agree, agree, neither agree or disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree in response to 26 statements that examined their perceptions of the topics listed above. Responses were grouped based on the age of genetic identity disclosure and the method of genetic identity disclosure, then numerically compared by assigning each type of response a number. Statistical analysis using repeatedmeasures ANOVA was performed to identify differences among these factors.Results: This analysis revealed that most participants 18 ≥ years and most participants who discovered their genetic identity through means other than through their parent(s) had worse emotional wellbeing and familial relations. However, most participants among all categories had a negative perception of donor conception practices.Conclusion: Continued work is needed to understand and support the growing DCP population.

Analysis of the impact of noninvasive prenatal testing for trisomies 21 and 18 in twin pregnancies undergoing artificial reproductive technology

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance and impact of noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) on twin pregnancies.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twin pregnancies after artificial reproductive technology(ART) were tested by NIPS for screening trisomy 21, 18, and 13 in a single medical center in Hangzhou. Positive NIPS results were confirmed by karyotyping, while negative results were interviewed after delivery.

RESULTS

From January 2019 to December 2020, 474 twin pregnancies were tested by NIPS for screening trisomy 21, 18, and 13 in a single medical center in Hangzhou. The performance of NIPS had been evaluated compared to the invasive diagnostic results. The positive predictive value (PPV) of NIPS for chromosome 21 and 18 aneuploidies is 80% (95CI, 36.09-96.59) and 100%, respectively. The incidence of trisomy 21, and 18 chromosome aneuploidies among the twin pregnancies undergoing ART was 0.84% and 0.21%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The performance of NIPS was substantially accurate among the twin pregnancies after ART in this study, and NIPS potentially avoided a considerable part of aneuploidies liveborn in twin pregnancies in Hangzhou.

'These were made-to-order babies': Reterritorialised Kinship, Neoliberal Eugenics and Artificial Reproductive Technology in Kishwar Desai's Origins of Love

This essay examines Kishwar Desai's Origins of Love (2012) in order to foreground how the novel is complexly reflective of the biomedical technologies strategically deployed by medical practitioners and prospective parents for the purpose of reinforcing caste-based bionormative notion of family that artificial reproductive technology is assumed to have problematised. The essay also demonstrates how the use of bioenhancement facilities has led to the revival of neoliberal eugenics enmeshed with state-led biopolitics. The essay draws on the concept of renaturalisation discussed by Tamar Sharon in order to examine how the schizophrenic or deterritorialising potential of reproductive technology is reconfigured and domesticated by the medicolegal practitioners in order to reterritorialise the normative structures of kinship and family formation within a capitalist consumerist culture.

The role of letrozole in in vitro fertilization treatment: new remedy or old mirage?

Aromatase inhibitors, particularly letrozole (LZ), are now established as first-line ovulation induction agents, offering an effective ovarian stimulation strategy to enhance outcomes of intrauterine insemination. In recent years, they have also emerged as potentially valuable adjuvants to gonadotropin ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization, particularly in fertility preservation in women with estrogen-responsive cancers. Their primary mechanism of action is to reduce the circulating estrogen levels by inhibiting androgen aromatization. Recent studies have provided evidence that this property may confer therapeutic advantages in other patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. In this study, evidence supporting the role of adjuvant LZ in poor responders, as a moderator of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome symptoms, and an agent for improving the luteal phase after ovarian stimulation is reviewed. The use of LZ for endometrial preparation in the frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycle is also considered.