0000000000530915

AUTHOR

Amparo Mercader

FISH screening of aneuploidies in preimplantation embryos to improve IVF outcome

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has transformed the approach to the infertility patient in the IVF setting. Although the principal applications of PGD have been to prevent the transmission of sex-linked diseases, in time and with growing knowledge of the chromosomal abnormalities observed in preimplantation embryos, its applications have widened. Nowadays, apart from its implications in the prevention of transmission of chromosomal and genetic abnormalities, PGD is being used with increased frequency to improve the IVF outcome in patients with advanced maternal age (or =38 years of age), recurrent miscarriage (or =2 miscarriages), recurrent IVF failure (or =3 failed IVF attempts) an…

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False positive rate of an arrayCGH platform for single-cell preimplantation genetic screening and subsequent clinical application on day-3

In this work, false positive rate of an arrayCGH platform for its use in day-3 single-blastomere analysis was calculated. For this purpose, 38 embryos diagnosed as abnormal on day-3 by FISH were re-biopsied on day-4. Single-cell day-4 arrayCGH diagnosis was then performed. A successful amplification was obtained in 97.4 % (37/38) of the day-4 cells analysed by arrayCGH. Day-3 FISH and day-4 arrayCGH diagnosis were concordant in 35/37 cases. The two discordant embryos were spread and all the cells from each embryo were re-analysed by FISH on day 5. The same error rate (2.7 %) for day-3 FISH and day-4 arrayCGH was obtained when comparing day-5 FISH re-analysis. After this pre-clinical phase, …

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Impact of chromosomal abnormalities on preimplantation embryo development.

Objectives To evaluate the influence of numerical chromosomal abnormalities on preimplantation embryo development. Methods This study includes 6936 embryos from 1245 women undergoing preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Indications for aneuploidy screening were: recurrent miscarriages, implantation failure, severe male factor, advanced maternal age, and mixed causes. Embryo biopsy was performed on day 3, and embryos were co-cultured until day 5, when embryo transfer was performed. Results In the aneuploidy screening regimen, normal euploid embryos showed significantly higher blastocyst rates (68.2%) compared to chromosomally abnormal (42.8%, p < 0.0001) and mosaic (53.7%, p < 0.0001) em…

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New Tools for Embryo Selection: Comprehensive Chromosome Screening by Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization

The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of comprehensive chromosome screening (CCS) using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). The study included 1420 CCS cycles for recurrent miscarriage (n=203); repetitive implantation failure (n=188); severe male factor (n=116); previous trisomic pregnancy (n=33); and advanced maternal age (n=880). CCS was performed in cycles with fresh oocytes and embryos (n=774); mixed cycles with fresh and vitrified oocytes (n=320); mixed cycles with fresh and vitrified day-2 embryos (n=235); and mixed cycles with fresh and vitrified day-3 embryos (n=91). Day-3 embryo biopsy was performed and analyzed by aCGH followed by day-5 embryo tran…

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Mitochondrial DNA content decreases during in vitro human embryo development: insights into mitochondrial DNA variation in preimplantation embryos donated for research.

Objective To assess the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) load and variation in human oocytes and during preimplantation embryo development using specimens donated for research. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Not applicable. Patients A total of 50 in vitro fertilization patients and 11 oocyte donors whose specimens were obtained between July 2017 and July 2018. Interventions None. Main Outcome Measures All specimens were separately collected. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed with SurePlex DNA Amplification System (Illumina). Primers for the adenosine triphosphate 8 mitochondrial gene and the β-actin were used. Data were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance wi…

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Chromosomal abnormalities and clinical outcome in patients with advanced maternal age (AMA) using comprehensive chromosome screening (CCS)

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Sperm chromosomal abnormalities and their contribution to human embryo aneuploidy.

In this work we reviewed 18 years of experience using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for sperm aneuploidy testing. We evaluated parameters associated with increased numerical sperm chromosome abnormalities and determined the male contribution to embryo aneploidies in terms of reproductive outcome by increased sperm aneuploidy. This retrospective study analyzed data from 2008 sperm samples of infertile males undergoing FISH analysis because of clinical history of repetitive implantation failure, recurrent miscarriage, impaired sperm parameters, or mixed causes. Sperm concentration was the only sperm parameter associated with FISH results—we observed a gradual increase of abnormal …

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Effect of genistein and daidzein levels on ovarian response and embryo quality in PGT-A cycles

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Transcriptomic behavior of genes associated with chromosome 21 aneuploidies in early embryo development.

To analyze how chromosome 21 (HSA21) ploidy affects global gene expression of early human blastocysts.Prospective study.University-affiliated in vitro fertilization clinic.A total of 26 high-quality donated embryos from in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients: trisomy 21 (n = 8), monosomy 21 (n = 10), and euploid (n = 8) blastocysts.None.Blastocyst transcriptome changes and its associated functions.Trisomy 21, monosomy 21, and euploid blastocysts were classified by comparative genomic hybridization. The global transcriptome of whole blastocysts was analyzed with small cell number RNA sequencing, and they were compared to understand the gene expression behavior at early development and its imp…

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Clinical experience and perinatal outcome of blastocyst transfer after coculture of human embryos with human endometrial epithelial cells: a 5-year follow-up study.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the reproductive and neonatal outcome of blastocyst transfer after coculture with human endometrial epithelial cells in IVF and oocyte donation. Design Retrospective study. Setting Private assisted reproductive center. Patient(s) Two hundred sixty women undergoing IVF and 469 oocyte recipients. Intervention(s) IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and transfer of at least one blastocyst after coculture with human endometrial epithelial cells. Main outcome measure(s) Blastocyst formation rate, implantation and pregnancy rates, neonatal outcome, and congenital birth defects. Results Among patients who had transfer with their own oocytes, 1,193 of 2,349 …

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Have Day 3 Embryo Morphology a Predictive Value in Blastocyst Formation?

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Vitrification of preimplantation genetically diagnosed human blastocysts and its contribution to the cumulative ongoing pregnancy rate per cycle by using a closed device.

Objective To evaluate the survival rate and clinical results of our vitrification procedure on preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) blastocysts and to calculate its actual contribution to the reproductive outcome per cycle. Design Retrospective clinical study. Setting University Institute IVI, Valencia, Spain. Patient(s) Patients who requested cryotransfer of surplus PGD blastocysts after failed fresh elective transfer. Intervention(s) Retrospectively collected data during 2 years of experience with blastocyst vitrification. Main Outcome Measure(s) Primary outcome measures were the following: blastocyst recovery and survival; cryotransfer cancellation; and the implantation, pregnancy (PR…

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Embryologic outcome and secretome profile of implanted blastocysts obtained after coculture in human endometrial epithelial cells versus the sequential system.

Objective To compare embryologic and clinical outcomes in terms of preimplantation development, implantation, pregnancy rates, and secretome profile of implanted blastocysts from the preimplantation genetic diagnosis program grown in sequential versus endometrial epithelial cell (EEC) coculture system. Design Retrospective clinical study and prospective experimental study. Setting In vitro fertilization clinical unit and university research laboratory. Intervention(s) Blastomere biopsy, embryo culture, blastocyst transfer, and protein analysis of the media conditioned from implanted embryos obtained from coculture and sequential systems. Main Outcome Measure(s) Clinical study: blastocyst, i…

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Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy in patients with partial X monosomy using their own oocytes: is this a suitable indication?

Objective To describe the outcome of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-A) using their own oocytes in patients with mosaic Turner Syndrome (MTS). The impact of the assisted reproduction technique (ART) performed (PGT-A or oocyte donation) and the type of absence of the X chromosome (total or partial) were considered. Design Retrospective observational multicenter study. Setting University-affiliated private in vitro fertilization center. Patient(s) Fifty-six patients with MTS with whom 65 ovarian stimulation cycles for PGT-A (fluorescence in situ hybridization/arrays-next generation sequencing) were performed. The study included 90 women with MTS and 20 women with pure Turner Syndrome (PT…

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Ultrastructure of preimplantation genetic diagnosis-derived human blastocysts grown in a coculture system after vitrification

Objective To evaluate ultrastructural features of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) blastocysts before and after vitrification. Design Descriptive study of both vitrified and fresh hatching blastocysts. Setting PGD program at the Instituto Universitario, Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad. Patient(s) Patients undergoing PGD donated their abnormal embryos for research (n = 26). Intervention(s) Biopsied embryos were cultured in the presence of human endometrial cells until day 6. Sixteen blastocysts were vitrified. A total of 11 high-scored hatching blastocysts, 6 warmed and 5 fresh, were fixed for ultrastructure. Main Outcome Measure(s) The cytoskeleton structure, type of intercellul…

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Leptin and Leptin Receptor Are Expressed in the Human Endometrium and Endometrial Leptin Secretion Is Regulated by the Human Blastocyst1

Embryonic implantation is a crucial event for the human reproductive function. Cytokines and paracrine molecules have been proposed as putative local regulators of this process. The leptin or the OB protein has been linked to the reproductive function and inflammatory response. In the present study, we describe for the first time the expression of leptin and leptin receptor (long form) in the secretory endometrium and that endometrial leptin secretion is regulated in vitro by the human blastocyst. Leptin and leptin receptor messenger RNA and protein were identified in secretory endometrium and in cultured endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) by RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry.…

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