Magna Scientia Advanced Research and Reviews, Feb 28, 2023
Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to be associated with pregnancy complications due ... more Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to be associated with pregnancy complications due to the effect on implantation. However, the effect of vitamin D on the clinical outcomes of IVF in women with recurrent implantation failure is unclear. Present study aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D status in recurrent implantation failure (RIF) patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 52 women with RIF undergoing IVF treatments from 2018 to 2019. Blood samples were collected from participant after 2 weeks of embryo transfer and then serum 25-OH vitamin D levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Clinical pregnancy and patients' characteristics were evaluated. Results: The incidence of vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency and sufficiency among the studied population were 7.7%, 73.1% and 19.2%, respectively. Vitamin D levels were significantly associated with clinical pregnancy in patients with ≥30 years old, being overweight, duration of marriage and infertility duration ≥5 years and having history of abortion. By adjusting confounding factors in the multivariate analysis, we found a significant association between vitamin D levels and clinical pregnancy in RIF patients (p=0.007). Conclusion: There is a significant correlation between vitamin D levels and clinical pregnancy rate in RIF woman undergoing IVF. However, more randomized, controlled trials are suggested.
Sperm cryopreservation is a routine method in andrology and IVF laboratory. However, the sperm qu... more Sperm cryopreservation is a routine method in andrology and IVF laboratory. However, the sperm quality and its fertilizing capacity have been decreased during this process. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the role of myoinositol as a supplement in amelioration of total and progressive sperm motility, DNA fragmentation, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and lipid peroxidation after the freezing-thawing process on patients with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) syndrome. Semen samples obtained from 40 patients were divided into two aliquots and freezed with simple and 2 mg/mL myoinositol (MYO) supplemented freezing media. All samples were thawed and assessed after one month. Semen parameters were analyzed in terms of the motility by CASA, the level of total ROS by fluorimetry, TAC and MDA by colorimetric assay and finally DNA fragmentation by TUNEL assay. Our results clearly showed that MYO could improve total (37.46 vs. 12.91, p \ 0.001) and progressive motility
BackgroundTo evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of i... more BackgroundTo evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment among infertile couples and also to determine the importance of each of the parameters affecting IUI success. This study was a retrospective cohort study in which information from 380 infertile couples undergoing IUI treatment (190 cases resulting in positive pregnancy test and 190 cases of failed IUI) including underlying factors, female factors, sperm parameters at the beginning of the treatment cycle, and fertility results were collected from 2013 to 2019 and evaluated to determine the effectiveness of AI in predicting IUI success.ResultsWe used the most important factors influencing the success of IUI as a neural network input. With the help of a three-layer neural network, the accuracy of the AI to predict the success rate of IUI was 71.92% and the sensitivity and specificity were 76.19% and 66.67%, respectively. The effect of each of the pre...
The present study investigated the effects of DNA fragmentation of spermatozoa on the growth fact... more The present study investigated the effects of DNA fragmentation of spermatozoa on the growth factors expression by a human oviduct epithelial cell line (OE-E6/E7). Two separate groups were examined in this study. The cell line was cultured in the presence of spermatozoa with normal DNA fragmentation index (DFI) or abnormal DFI. Total RNA from the cell line in each group was isolated, and relative expression of objective genes was analysed using PCR array. Also, the concentration of VEGF, BMP-2, BMP-7 and MSTN in the supernatant of cell culture was analysed by the ELISA method. The PCR array analysis revealed that most of the growth factors had been upregulated in the abnormal group. However, the differences between groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for five genes, including VEGF-A, BMP-2, BMP-6, BMP-7 and OSM. Furthermore, MSTN was the only gene that down-regulated significantly under the influence of the spermatozoa with abnormal DFI. Moreover, the results of ELISA analysis were in agreement with the data of the PCR array. It has been concluded that DNA fragmentation in human spermatozoa can probably change regular events throughout the oviducts. Consequently, the genes of interest may change sperm function and probably its fate in the female reproductive tract.
Additional file 1:. Supplementary Figure 1. Venn diagram of molecular function (MF) and cellular ... more Additional file 1:. Supplementary Figure 1. Venn diagram of molecular function (MF) and cellular component (CC) on days 8, 12, and 25. a Upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEG). b Downregulated DEGs. Supplementary Table 2. Hub genes for up- and downregulated genes ranked in CytoHubba. Supplementary Figure 2. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network (STRING). Supplementary Figure 3. The ability of MSCs to differentiate into osteoblast and adipocyte
RESEARCH QUESTION The mechanism of Myo-Inositol, as an adjuvant, on key signaling pathways relate... more RESEARCH QUESTION The mechanism of Myo-Inositol, as an adjuvant, on key signaling pathways related to oocyte maturation, fertilization rate, and embryo quality as well as ovarian steroidogenesis in cumulus cells of PCOS patients, is still unclear. DESIGN Infertile patients who were candidates for ART cycles were divided into three groups (n = 30 in each group), including group 1: PCOS patients only receiving folic acid, group 2: PCOS patients receiving daily Myo-Inositol combined with folic acid, and a control group (group 3): normal ovulatory women without PCOS receiving only folic acid from 1 month prior to IVF cycle until the day of ovum pick up. During the ART procedure, oocytes maturation, fertilization rate, and embryo quality were assessed. The gene expressions of FSHR, LHR, CYP11A1, CYP19A1, 3β-HSD2, and StAR were also analyzed using qRT-PCR. Western blot analysis was performed for the evaluation of AKT, ERK, CREB, and AMPK phosphorylation. RESULT Despite equal number of retrieved oocytes, the percentages of MII oocytes, fertilization rate, and embryo quality were found to be significantly higher in group 2 due to the administration of inofolic. The expressions of all the studied genes were significantly higher in the cumulus cells of group 1 compared to the group 2. Higher phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was found in the groups 2 and 3 compared to the group 1. On the other hand, p-Akt has significantly decreased in the group 2 compared to the group 1. CONCLUSION Our study provides new insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the positive effect of Myo-Inositol on intrinsic ovarian defects in PCOS, steroidogenesis, oocyte maturation, fertilization rate, and embryo quality.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine condition in females during the rep... more Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine condition in females during the reproductive years. Several genetic factors have been shown to impact the normal ovulation and be involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Genes regulating immune responses are among these factors. In the current investigation, we genotyped a variant in Interleukin (IL)-1B gene (rs16944) in 270 patients with PCOS (including 154 infertile cases (PCOS-I) and 116 cases with history of recurrent abortion (PCOS-A)) and 112 healthy controls. There was no significant difference in frequencies of rs16944 alleles/genotypes between PCOS-I subjects and healthy controls. However, the G allele of the rs16944 SNP was less frequent among PCOS-A cases compared with controls (OR (95% CI) = 0.58 (0.4-0.84), P value = 0.004). The rs16944 SNP was associated with PCOS-A in co-dominant (GG vs. AA: OR (95% CI) = 0.37 (0.18-0.76), P value = 0.02), dominant (AG + GG vs. AA: OR (95% CI) = 0.51 (0.28-0.91), P value = 0.02) and recessive (GG vs. AG + AA: OR (95% CI) = 0.50 (0.27-0.92), P value = 0.02) models. Taken together, the mentioned SNP can be regarded as a risk locus for a certain type of PCOS in Iranian population.
Background: Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs known as essential regulators of cell-c... more Background: Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs known as essential regulators of cell-cell communication. Recent studies have revealed that miRNAs secrete by a blastocyst in culture mediums. We hypothesized that endometrial epithelial cells take up embryo-derived miRNAs and other soluble factors and regulate their receptivity-related genes expression. Methods and Results: Blastocyst culture mediums (BCM) were collected from the individually cultured embryos and, human endometrial epithelial cells (HEECs), were collected from healthy fertile volunteers. To evaluate the effect of BCM on the endometrial receptivity gene expression, HEECs were co-cultured with implanted BCM, non-implanted BCM, and a control culture medium. After determining altered gene expression in the HEECs, the miRNAs-related genes through bioinformatics databases were identified and evaluated in the BCM. Co-culture of primary HEECs with BCM significantly stimulated the expression levels of VEGFA, HBEGF, H...
Study question Do exosomes from seminal plasma of men with unexplained infertility affect endomet... more Study question Do exosomes from seminal plasma of men with unexplained infertility affect endometrial receptivity? Summary answer Seminal plasma exosomes from unexplained infertile men alter the expression of genes and signaling pathways related to endometrial receptivity. What is known already Unexplained infertile Men are a challenging group with no obvious cause of infertility. Many Complicated mechanisms play a crucial role in preparing the receptive endometrium for embryo implantation. The exosomes of seminal plasma are a heterogeneous cargo of nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids that participate in sperm maturation and function by binding to sperm. It is now apparent that the seminal plasma and its exosomes play a complex role in controlling the female reproductive system. There is no study investigating the effect of Unexplained seminal plasma exosomes on endometrial receptivity. Study design, size, duration Samples were collected from 10 men with normal semen parameters from...
Objective: Despite the treatment of anovulation, infertility is still one of the main complicatio... more Objective: Despite the treatment of anovulation, infertility is still one of the main complications in PCOS women during reproductive age, which appears to be mainly due to impaired uterine receptivity. This study investigated the transcriptome profiles of endometrium in PCOS patients and healthy fertile individuals as the control group. Material and methods: Total mRNA was extracted from endometrial tissues of PCOS patients (n = 12) and healthy fertile individuals (n = 10) during the luteal phase. After cDNA synthesis, PCR array was performed using Human Female Infertility RT² Profiler PCR Array kit (Qiagen, Cat.No: PAHS-164Z) for evaluating expression of 84 genes contributing to the female infertility.
Background Adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are multipotent stem cells ... more Background Adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into three lineages. They are suitable sources for cell-based therapy and regenerative medicine applications. This study aims to evaluate the hub genes and key pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to osteogenesis by bioinformatics analysis in three different days. The DEGs were derived from the three different days compared with day 0. Results Gene expression profiles of GSE37558 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A total of 4076 DEGs were acquired on days 8, 12, and 25. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated signaling pathway were commonly upregulated DEGs for all 3 days. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that the PI3K-Akt and focal adhesion were also commonly upregulated DEGs for all 3 days. Ten hub genes were identified by Cyto...
Context: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes dysfunction of vital organs in the body. Concerns about the ... more Context: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes dysfunction of vital organs in the body. Concerns about the destructive effect of SARS-CoV-2 on human reproductive tissues and fertility have increased. Evaluation of the possible mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 causes infertility is essential for effective prevention and treatment. This review aims to assess the studies that have been conducted on SARS-CoV-2 impacts on the human reproductive system. Evidence Acquisition: This review study investigated articles indexed in PubMed, Science-Direct, Scopus, and google scholar databases from 2019 to 2021. The Keywords SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, human reproductive system, testis, and ovary were searched in the mentioned databases. Results: The present study assessed the expression of SARS-CoV-2-specific receptors, the presence of the virus in the human reproductive system, and the mechanisms by which this virus can affect human fertility. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses, may indirectly influence ...
To evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of intrauterin... more To evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment among infertile couples and also to determine the importance of each of the parameters affecting IUI success. This study was a retrospective cohort study in which information from 380 infertile couples undergoing IUI treatment (190 cases resulting in positive pregnancy test and 190 cases of failed IUI) including underlying factors, female factors, sperm parameters at the beginning of the treatment cycle, and fertility results were collected from 2013 to 2019 and evaluated to determine the effectiveness of AI in predicting IUI success. We used the most important factors influencing the success of IUI as a neural network input. With the help of a three-layer neural network, the accuracy of the AI to predict the success rate of IUI was 71.92% and the sensitivity and specificity were 76.19% and 66.67%, respectively. The effect of each of the predictive factors ...
BACKGROUND Spermatozoa interactions with fallopian tubes may influence fertilization. The purpose... more BACKGROUND Spermatozoa interactions with fallopian tubes may influence fertilization. The purpose was to investigate cytokines, chemokines and growth factors expression from human fallopian tube epithelial cells (OE-E6/E7) exposed to spermatozoa. METHODS Fresh semen samples were obtained from 10 healthy normozoospermic men. Sperms were prepared and co-cultured with OE-E6/E7. The cell line without spermatozoa was considered as the control group. Afterwards, Expression of 84 cytokines from OE-E6/E7 cell line in the presence and absence of spermatozoa were measured using PCR-array. Quantitative PCR was performed on seven genes to confirm the results of PCR-array analysis. Differentially expressed genes were subjected to www.geneontology.org and www.pantherdb.org to perform GO enrichment and panther pathway analysis. The concentration of IL-8, IL-10, IL-1B and BMP-4 in culture medium were analyzed by ELISA. RESULTS Sperm interaction with the epithelial cells resulted in a significant increase in expression of TGF-β2, BMP-4, IL-10, IL-9, and CD40LG markers. Moreover, expression of IL-16, IL-17F, SPP-1, CXCL-13, MSTN, IL-1A, IL-1B, IL-8, BMP-7, CSF-2, CSF-3, VEGF-A, OSM, LTA, TNF, TNFRSF11B, TNFSF11, CCL-11, CCL-20, CCL-24, CCL-3, CCL-8, CX3CL1 and CXCL-9 were considerably reduced in presence of spermatozoa. Panther pathway analysis discovered 3 pathways for upregulated genes including gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor, TGF-beta and interleukin signaling pathways. Furthermore, 9 pathways were detected for down-regulated genes. Inflammation signaling pathway which is mediated by chemokine and cytokine contains the most number of genes. CONCLUSION This study indicates that sperm modifies expression of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors from OE-E6/E7. Moreover, altered genes expression are toward higher survival chance of the spermatozoa.
This study investigates the relationship between sperm DNA damage in recurrent implantation failu... more This study investigates the relationship between sperm DNA damage in recurrent implantation failure (RIF) patients treated with comparative genomic hybridisation array-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (CGH array-ICSI) cycles and embryo aneuploidy screening. Forty-two RIF couples were selected. Sperm DFI was measured using TUNEL by flow cytometry. Two groups were defined as follows: (i) sperm with high DFI (> 20%); and (ii) low DFI (< 20%). Semen parameters, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde formation (MDA) were also measured in both groups. Following oocyte retrieval and ICSI procedure, blastomere biopsy was performed at the 4th day of development and evaluated with CGH-array. The high DFI group had a significant (p = 0.04) increase in the number of aneuploid embryos compared to the low one. According to Poisson regression results, the risk of aneuploidy embryos in the high DFI group was 55% higher than the low DFI group (RR = 1.55; 95% CI = 1.358-1.772). Moreover, chromosomal analysis showed an elevation of aneuploidy in chromosomes number 16 and 20 in the high DFI group compared to the low DFI group (p < 0.05). The high DFI in RIF patients may significantly affect the risk of aneuploidy embryos. Therefore, embryo selection by CGH-array should be considered for couples with high levels of sperm DNA fragmentation.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Objective(s): NOTCH signaling pathway is well known for its role in cell fate, cell survival, cel... more Objective(s): NOTCH signaling pathway is well known for its role in cell fate, cell survival, cell differentiation, and apoptosis. Some of the NOTCH signaling genes are critical for endometrial function and implantation in animals and appear to play a similar role in humans. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the potential roles of some main components of the NOTCH family in human endometrium during implantation period in common gynecological diseases. Materials and Methods: Endometrial NOTCH receptors NOTCH1, 3, 4 and ligand JAG1, 2 and survivin mRNA expression were investigated using the Q-PCR technique and the amount of the JAG1, 2 proteins was also determined by Western blot. Samples were obtained from 12 patients with endometriosis, 12 patients with repeated implantation failure (RIF), 12 patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and 10 healthy fertile women as a control group. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18. Group comparisons were performed by o...
International Journal of Fertility & Sterility, 2020
Background The aim of this study was to investigate two enkephalin-degrading enzymes, aminopeptid... more Background The aim of this study was to investigate two enkephalin-degrading enzymes, aminopeptidase N (APN/ CD13) and endopeptidase (NEP/CD10), gene and protein expression levels in sperm samples of fertile and heroin- addicted men, and the correlation between their expressions and semen quality. Materials and Methods In this case-controlled study, semen was collected from 24 normozoospermic healthy (as a control group) and 24 heroin-addicted men donors (as case or addiction group). Sperm cells isolated by Cook Medical gradient (40-80%) and followed up by swim-up techniques were used for real-time quantitative polymer- ase chain reaction (qPCR) and flow cytometry techniques to assess APN/CD13 and NEP/CD10 genes and proteins subsequently. Semen parameters were analyzed by computer-assisted sperm analysis. Results The findings revealed that there were significant differences in sperm total motility (41.07 ± 3.63 vs. 63.03 ± 3.31 %, P=0.0001), progressive motility (35.21 ± 2.64 vs. 20...
Magna Scientia Advanced Research and Reviews, Feb 28, 2023
Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to be associated with pregnancy complications due ... more Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to be associated with pregnancy complications due to the effect on implantation. However, the effect of vitamin D on the clinical outcomes of IVF in women with recurrent implantation failure is unclear. Present study aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D status in recurrent implantation failure (RIF) patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 52 women with RIF undergoing IVF treatments from 2018 to 2019. Blood samples were collected from participant after 2 weeks of embryo transfer and then serum 25-OH vitamin D levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Clinical pregnancy and patients' characteristics were evaluated. Results: The incidence of vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency and sufficiency among the studied population were 7.7%, 73.1% and 19.2%, respectively. Vitamin D levels were significantly associated with clinical pregnancy in patients with ≥30 years old, being overweight, duration of marriage and infertility duration ≥5 years and having history of abortion. By adjusting confounding factors in the multivariate analysis, we found a significant association between vitamin D levels and clinical pregnancy in RIF patients (p=0.007). Conclusion: There is a significant correlation between vitamin D levels and clinical pregnancy rate in RIF woman undergoing IVF. However, more randomized, controlled trials are suggested.
Sperm cryopreservation is a routine method in andrology and IVF laboratory. However, the sperm qu... more Sperm cryopreservation is a routine method in andrology and IVF laboratory. However, the sperm quality and its fertilizing capacity have been decreased during this process. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the role of myoinositol as a supplement in amelioration of total and progressive sperm motility, DNA fragmentation, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and lipid peroxidation after the freezing-thawing process on patients with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) syndrome. Semen samples obtained from 40 patients were divided into two aliquots and freezed with simple and 2 mg/mL myoinositol (MYO) supplemented freezing media. All samples were thawed and assessed after one month. Semen parameters were analyzed in terms of the motility by CASA, the level of total ROS by fluorimetry, TAC and MDA by colorimetric assay and finally DNA fragmentation by TUNEL assay. Our results clearly showed that MYO could improve total (37.46 vs. 12.91, p \ 0.001) and progressive motility
BackgroundTo evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of i... more BackgroundTo evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment among infertile couples and also to determine the importance of each of the parameters affecting IUI success. This study was a retrospective cohort study in which information from 380 infertile couples undergoing IUI treatment (190 cases resulting in positive pregnancy test and 190 cases of failed IUI) including underlying factors, female factors, sperm parameters at the beginning of the treatment cycle, and fertility results were collected from 2013 to 2019 and evaluated to determine the effectiveness of AI in predicting IUI success.ResultsWe used the most important factors influencing the success of IUI as a neural network input. With the help of a three-layer neural network, the accuracy of the AI to predict the success rate of IUI was 71.92% and the sensitivity and specificity were 76.19% and 66.67%, respectively. The effect of each of the pre...
The present study investigated the effects of DNA fragmentation of spermatozoa on the growth fact... more The present study investigated the effects of DNA fragmentation of spermatozoa on the growth factors expression by a human oviduct epithelial cell line (OE-E6/E7). Two separate groups were examined in this study. The cell line was cultured in the presence of spermatozoa with normal DNA fragmentation index (DFI) or abnormal DFI. Total RNA from the cell line in each group was isolated, and relative expression of objective genes was analysed using PCR array. Also, the concentration of VEGF, BMP-2, BMP-7 and MSTN in the supernatant of cell culture was analysed by the ELISA method. The PCR array analysis revealed that most of the growth factors had been upregulated in the abnormal group. However, the differences between groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for five genes, including VEGF-A, BMP-2, BMP-6, BMP-7 and OSM. Furthermore, MSTN was the only gene that down-regulated significantly under the influence of the spermatozoa with abnormal DFI. Moreover, the results of ELISA analysis were in agreement with the data of the PCR array. It has been concluded that DNA fragmentation in human spermatozoa can probably change regular events throughout the oviducts. Consequently, the genes of interest may change sperm function and probably its fate in the female reproductive tract.
Additional file 1:. Supplementary Figure 1. Venn diagram of molecular function (MF) and cellular ... more Additional file 1:. Supplementary Figure 1. Venn diagram of molecular function (MF) and cellular component (CC) on days 8, 12, and 25. a Upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEG). b Downregulated DEGs. Supplementary Table 2. Hub genes for up- and downregulated genes ranked in CytoHubba. Supplementary Figure 2. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network (STRING). Supplementary Figure 3. The ability of MSCs to differentiate into osteoblast and adipocyte
RESEARCH QUESTION The mechanism of Myo-Inositol, as an adjuvant, on key signaling pathways relate... more RESEARCH QUESTION The mechanism of Myo-Inositol, as an adjuvant, on key signaling pathways related to oocyte maturation, fertilization rate, and embryo quality as well as ovarian steroidogenesis in cumulus cells of PCOS patients, is still unclear. DESIGN Infertile patients who were candidates for ART cycles were divided into three groups (n = 30 in each group), including group 1: PCOS patients only receiving folic acid, group 2: PCOS patients receiving daily Myo-Inositol combined with folic acid, and a control group (group 3): normal ovulatory women without PCOS receiving only folic acid from 1 month prior to IVF cycle until the day of ovum pick up. During the ART procedure, oocytes maturation, fertilization rate, and embryo quality were assessed. The gene expressions of FSHR, LHR, CYP11A1, CYP19A1, 3β-HSD2, and StAR were also analyzed using qRT-PCR. Western blot analysis was performed for the evaluation of AKT, ERK, CREB, and AMPK phosphorylation. RESULT Despite equal number of retrieved oocytes, the percentages of MII oocytes, fertilization rate, and embryo quality were found to be significantly higher in group 2 due to the administration of inofolic. The expressions of all the studied genes were significantly higher in the cumulus cells of group 1 compared to the group 2. Higher phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was found in the groups 2 and 3 compared to the group 1. On the other hand, p-Akt has significantly decreased in the group 2 compared to the group 1. CONCLUSION Our study provides new insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the positive effect of Myo-Inositol on intrinsic ovarian defects in PCOS, steroidogenesis, oocyte maturation, fertilization rate, and embryo quality.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine condition in females during the rep... more Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine condition in females during the reproductive years. Several genetic factors have been shown to impact the normal ovulation and be involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS. Genes regulating immune responses are among these factors. In the current investigation, we genotyped a variant in Interleukin (IL)-1B gene (rs16944) in 270 patients with PCOS (including 154 infertile cases (PCOS-I) and 116 cases with history of recurrent abortion (PCOS-A)) and 112 healthy controls. There was no significant difference in frequencies of rs16944 alleles/genotypes between PCOS-I subjects and healthy controls. However, the G allele of the rs16944 SNP was less frequent among PCOS-A cases compared with controls (OR (95% CI) = 0.58 (0.4-0.84), P value = 0.004). The rs16944 SNP was associated with PCOS-A in co-dominant (GG vs. AA: OR (95% CI) = 0.37 (0.18-0.76), P value = 0.02), dominant (AG + GG vs. AA: OR (95% CI) = 0.51 (0.28-0.91), P value = 0.02) and recessive (GG vs. AG + AA: OR (95% CI) = 0.50 (0.27-0.92), P value = 0.02) models. Taken together, the mentioned SNP can be regarded as a risk locus for a certain type of PCOS in Iranian population.
Background: Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs known as essential regulators of cell-c... more Background: Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs known as essential regulators of cell-cell communication. Recent studies have revealed that miRNAs secrete by a blastocyst in culture mediums. We hypothesized that endometrial epithelial cells take up embryo-derived miRNAs and other soluble factors and regulate their receptivity-related genes expression. Methods and Results: Blastocyst culture mediums (BCM) were collected from the individually cultured embryos and, human endometrial epithelial cells (HEECs), were collected from healthy fertile volunteers. To evaluate the effect of BCM on the endometrial receptivity gene expression, HEECs were co-cultured with implanted BCM, non-implanted BCM, and a control culture medium. After determining altered gene expression in the HEECs, the miRNAs-related genes through bioinformatics databases were identified and evaluated in the BCM. Co-culture of primary HEECs with BCM significantly stimulated the expression levels of VEGFA, HBEGF, H...
Study question Do exosomes from seminal plasma of men with unexplained infertility affect endomet... more Study question Do exosomes from seminal plasma of men with unexplained infertility affect endometrial receptivity? Summary answer Seminal plasma exosomes from unexplained infertile men alter the expression of genes and signaling pathways related to endometrial receptivity. What is known already Unexplained infertile Men are a challenging group with no obvious cause of infertility. Many Complicated mechanisms play a crucial role in preparing the receptive endometrium for embryo implantation. The exosomes of seminal plasma are a heterogeneous cargo of nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids that participate in sperm maturation and function by binding to sperm. It is now apparent that the seminal plasma and its exosomes play a complex role in controlling the female reproductive system. There is no study investigating the effect of Unexplained seminal plasma exosomes on endometrial receptivity. Study design, size, duration Samples were collected from 10 men with normal semen parameters from...
Objective: Despite the treatment of anovulation, infertility is still one of the main complicatio... more Objective: Despite the treatment of anovulation, infertility is still one of the main complications in PCOS women during reproductive age, which appears to be mainly due to impaired uterine receptivity. This study investigated the transcriptome profiles of endometrium in PCOS patients and healthy fertile individuals as the control group. Material and methods: Total mRNA was extracted from endometrial tissues of PCOS patients (n = 12) and healthy fertile individuals (n = 10) during the luteal phase. After cDNA synthesis, PCR array was performed using Human Female Infertility RT² Profiler PCR Array kit (Qiagen, Cat.No: PAHS-164Z) for evaluating expression of 84 genes contributing to the female infertility.
Background Adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are multipotent stem cells ... more Background Adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into three lineages. They are suitable sources for cell-based therapy and regenerative medicine applications. This study aims to evaluate the hub genes and key pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to osteogenesis by bioinformatics analysis in three different days. The DEGs were derived from the three different days compared with day 0. Results Gene expression profiles of GSE37558 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A total of 4076 DEGs were acquired on days 8, 12, and 25. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated signaling pathway were commonly upregulated DEGs for all 3 days. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that the PI3K-Akt and focal adhesion were also commonly upregulated DEGs for all 3 days. Ten hub genes were identified by Cyto...
Context: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes dysfunction of vital organs in the body. Concerns about the ... more Context: The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes dysfunction of vital organs in the body. Concerns about the destructive effect of SARS-CoV-2 on human reproductive tissues and fertility have increased. Evaluation of the possible mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 causes infertility is essential for effective prevention and treatment. This review aims to assess the studies that have been conducted on SARS-CoV-2 impacts on the human reproductive system. Evidence Acquisition: This review study investigated articles indexed in PubMed, Science-Direct, Scopus, and google scholar databases from 2019 to 2021. The Keywords SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, human reproductive system, testis, and ovary were searched in the mentioned databases. Results: The present study assessed the expression of SARS-CoV-2-specific receptors, the presence of the virus in the human reproductive system, and the mechanisms by which this virus can affect human fertility. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses, may indirectly influence ...
To evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of intrauterin... more To evaluate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the success rate of intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment among infertile couples and also to determine the importance of each of the parameters affecting IUI success. This study was a retrospective cohort study in which information from 380 infertile couples undergoing IUI treatment (190 cases resulting in positive pregnancy test and 190 cases of failed IUI) including underlying factors, female factors, sperm parameters at the beginning of the treatment cycle, and fertility results were collected from 2013 to 2019 and evaluated to determine the effectiveness of AI in predicting IUI success. We used the most important factors influencing the success of IUI as a neural network input. With the help of a three-layer neural network, the accuracy of the AI to predict the success rate of IUI was 71.92% and the sensitivity and specificity were 76.19% and 66.67%, respectively. The effect of each of the predictive factors ...
BACKGROUND Spermatozoa interactions with fallopian tubes may influence fertilization. The purpose... more BACKGROUND Spermatozoa interactions with fallopian tubes may influence fertilization. The purpose was to investigate cytokines, chemokines and growth factors expression from human fallopian tube epithelial cells (OE-E6/E7) exposed to spermatozoa. METHODS Fresh semen samples were obtained from 10 healthy normozoospermic men. Sperms were prepared and co-cultured with OE-E6/E7. The cell line without spermatozoa was considered as the control group. Afterwards, Expression of 84 cytokines from OE-E6/E7 cell line in the presence and absence of spermatozoa were measured using PCR-array. Quantitative PCR was performed on seven genes to confirm the results of PCR-array analysis. Differentially expressed genes were subjected to www.geneontology.org and www.pantherdb.org to perform GO enrichment and panther pathway analysis. The concentration of IL-8, IL-10, IL-1B and BMP-4 in culture medium were analyzed by ELISA. RESULTS Sperm interaction with the epithelial cells resulted in a significant increase in expression of TGF-β2, BMP-4, IL-10, IL-9, and CD40LG markers. Moreover, expression of IL-16, IL-17F, SPP-1, CXCL-13, MSTN, IL-1A, IL-1B, IL-8, BMP-7, CSF-2, CSF-3, VEGF-A, OSM, LTA, TNF, TNFRSF11B, TNFSF11, CCL-11, CCL-20, CCL-24, CCL-3, CCL-8, CX3CL1 and CXCL-9 were considerably reduced in presence of spermatozoa. Panther pathway analysis discovered 3 pathways for upregulated genes including gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor, TGF-beta and interleukin signaling pathways. Furthermore, 9 pathways were detected for down-regulated genes. Inflammation signaling pathway which is mediated by chemokine and cytokine contains the most number of genes. CONCLUSION This study indicates that sperm modifies expression of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors from OE-E6/E7. Moreover, altered genes expression are toward higher survival chance of the spermatozoa.
This study investigates the relationship between sperm DNA damage in recurrent implantation failu... more This study investigates the relationship between sperm DNA damage in recurrent implantation failure (RIF) patients treated with comparative genomic hybridisation array-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (CGH array-ICSI) cycles and embryo aneuploidy screening. Forty-two RIF couples were selected. Sperm DFI was measured using TUNEL by flow cytometry. Two groups were defined as follows: (i) sperm with high DFI (> 20%); and (ii) low DFI (< 20%). Semen parameters, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde formation (MDA) were also measured in both groups. Following oocyte retrieval and ICSI procedure, blastomere biopsy was performed at the 4th day of development and evaluated with CGH-array. The high DFI group had a significant (p = 0.04) increase in the number of aneuploid embryos compared to the low one. According to Poisson regression results, the risk of aneuploidy embryos in the high DFI group was 55% higher than the low DFI group (RR = 1.55; 95% CI = 1.358-1.772). Moreover, chromosomal analysis showed an elevation of aneuploidy in chromosomes number 16 and 20 in the high DFI group compared to the low DFI group (p < 0.05). The high DFI in RIF patients may significantly affect the risk of aneuploidy embryos. Therefore, embryo selection by CGH-array should be considered for couples with high levels of sperm DNA fragmentation.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Objective(s): NOTCH signaling pathway is well known for its role in cell fate, cell survival, cel... more Objective(s): NOTCH signaling pathway is well known for its role in cell fate, cell survival, cell differentiation, and apoptosis. Some of the NOTCH signaling genes are critical for endometrial function and implantation in animals and appear to play a similar role in humans. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the potential roles of some main components of the NOTCH family in human endometrium during implantation period in common gynecological diseases. Materials and Methods: Endometrial NOTCH receptors NOTCH1, 3, 4 and ligand JAG1, 2 and survivin mRNA expression were investigated using the Q-PCR technique and the amount of the JAG1, 2 proteins was also determined by Western blot. Samples were obtained from 12 patients with endometriosis, 12 patients with repeated implantation failure (RIF), 12 patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and 10 healthy fertile women as a control group. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18. Group comparisons were performed by o...
International Journal of Fertility & Sterility, 2020
Background The aim of this study was to investigate two enkephalin-degrading enzymes, aminopeptid... more Background The aim of this study was to investigate two enkephalin-degrading enzymes, aminopeptidase N (APN/ CD13) and endopeptidase (NEP/CD10), gene and protein expression levels in sperm samples of fertile and heroin- addicted men, and the correlation between their expressions and semen quality. Materials and Methods In this case-controlled study, semen was collected from 24 normozoospermic healthy (as a control group) and 24 heroin-addicted men donors (as case or addiction group). Sperm cells isolated by Cook Medical gradient (40-80%) and followed up by swim-up techniques were used for real-time quantitative polymer- ase chain reaction (qPCR) and flow cytometry techniques to assess APN/CD13 and NEP/CD10 genes and proteins subsequently. Semen parameters were analyzed by computer-assisted sperm analysis. Results The findings revealed that there were significant differences in sperm total motility (41.07 ± 3.63 vs. 63.03 ± 3.31 %, P=0.0001), progressive motility (35.21 ± 2.64 vs. 20...
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Papers by Zahra Zandieh