Are there subtle genome-wide epigenetic alterations in normal offspring conceived by assisted reproductive technologies?

We report 2 novel autosomal translocations in the horse. In Case 1, a breeding stallion with a balanced t(4p;30) had produced normal foals and those with congenital abnormalities. Of his 9 phenotypically normal offspring, 4 had normal karyotypes, 4 had balanced t(4p;30), and 1 carried an unbalanced translocation with tertiary trisomy of 4p. We argue that unbalanced forms of t(4p;30) are more tolerated and result in viable congenital abnormalities, without causing embryonic death like all other known equine autosomal translocations. In Case 2, two stallions produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer from the same donor were karyotyped because of fertility issues. A balanced translocation t(12q;25) was found in one, but not in the other clone. The findings underscore the importance of routine cytogenetic screening of breeding animals and animals produced by assisted reproductive technologies. These cases will contribute to molecular studies of translocation breakpoints and their genetic consequences in the horse.

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Novel aspects of endometrial function: a biological sensor of embryo quality and driver of pregnancy success

Reproduction Fertility and Development ◽

10.1071/rd11908 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 68 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Olivier Sandra ◽

Nadéra Mansouri-Attia ◽

Richard G. Lea

Keyword(s):

Developmental Stages ◽

Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽

Uterine Cavity ◽

Reproductive Technologies ◽

Biological Properties ◽

Reproductive Capacity ◽

Epigenetic Alterations ◽

Uterine Receptivity ◽

Blastocyst Development ◽

Developmental Potential

Successful pregnancy depends on complex biological processes that are regulated temporally and spatially throughout gestation. The molecular basis of these processes have been examined in relation to gamete quality, early blastocyst development and placental function, and data have been generated showing perturbations of these developmental stages by environmental insults or embryo biotechnologies. The developmental period falling between the entry of the blastocyst into the uterine cavity to implantation has also been examined in terms of the biological function of the endometrium. Indeed several mechanisms underlying uterine receptivity, controlled by maternal factors, and the maternal recognition of pregnancy, requiring conceptus-produced signals, have been clarified. Nevertheless, recent data based on experimental perturbations have unveiled unexpected biological properties of the endometrium (sensor/driver) that make this tissue a dynamic and reactive entity. Persistent or transient modifications in organisation and functionality of the endometrium can dramatically affect pre-implantation embryo trajectory through epigenetic alterations with lasting consequences on later stages of pregnancy, including placentation, fetal development, pregnancy outcome and post-natal health. Developing diagnostic and prognostic tools based on endometrial factors may enable the assessment of maternal reproductive capacity and/or the developmental potential of the embryo, particularly when assisted reproductive technologies are applied.

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Epigenetics and Neurological Disorders in ART

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20174169 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (17) ◽

pp. 4169

Author(s):

Marina La Rovere ◽

Marica Franzago ◽

Liborio Stuppia

Keyword(s):

Neurological Disorders ◽

Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Reproductive Technologies ◽

Epigenetic Modifications ◽

Epigenetic Alterations ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Increased Risk

About 1–4% of children are currently generated by Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in developed countries. These babies show only a slightly increased risk of neonatal malformations. However, follow-up studies have suggested a higher susceptibility to multifactorial, adult onset disorders like obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in ART offspring. It has been suggested that these conditions could be the consequence of epigenetic, alterations, due to artificial manipulations of gametes and embryos potentially able to alter epigenetic stability during zygote reprogramming. In the last years, epigenetic alterations have been invoked as a possible cause of increased risk of neurological disorders, but at present the link between epigenetic modifications and long-term effects in terms of neurological diseases in ART children remains unclear, due to the short follow up limiting retrospective studies. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about neurological disorders promoted by epigenetics alterations in ART. Based on data currently available, it is possible to conclude that little, if any, evidence of an increased risk of neurological disorders in ART conceived children is provided. Most important, the large majority of reports appears to be limited to epidemiological studies, not providing any experimental evidence about epigenetic modifications responsible for an increased risk.

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Epigenetic Effects of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Human Offspring

10.1101/816157 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Wei Chen ◽

Yong Peng ◽

Xinyi Ma ◽

Siming Kong ◽

Shuangyan Tang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Embryo Transfer ◽

Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽

Adult Life ◽

Reproductive Technologies ◽

Fresh Embryo Transfer ◽

Vitro Fertilization ◽

Nuclear Families ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Parental Background

AbstractThe births of more than 8 million infants have been enabled globally through assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), including conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with either fresh embryo transfer (ET) or frozen embryo transfer (FET). However, the potential for elevated risks of ART-related disorders persists in adult life, and the underlying epigenetic mechanisms are largely uncharacterized. Here, we recruited 100 nuclear families and profiled the DNA methylomes, genome-wide histone modifications and transcriptomes to clarify the inherent extra risks attributable to specific ART procedures. We discovered that IVF-ET seemed to introduce less disturbance into the infant epigenome than IVF-FET or ICSI-ET did. Furthermore, we noted approximately half of the DNA methylomic changes in ART-conceived offspring could be explained by parental background biases. Through removal of the parental effect, we confirmed that ART per se would introduce minor DNA methylation changes locally. More importantly, we found that ART-induced epigenomic alterations were highly enriched in the processes which might contribute to increased incidence of preeclampsia during pregnancy and metabolic syndrome in offspring. Overall, our study provides an epigenetic basis for the potential long-term health risks in ART-conceived offspring that reinforces the need to review all methods of human ART.

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Comparison of Genome-Wide and Gene-Specific DNA Methylation between Pregnancies Conceived Naturally Versus ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies)

Placenta ◽

10.1016/j.placenta.2013.06.167 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 34 (9) ◽

pp. A56 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nir Melamed ◽

Sanaa Choufani ◽

Louise Wilkins-Haug ◽

Ellen Greenblatt ◽

Rosanna Weksberg

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽

Reproductive Technologies ◽

Genome Wide

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Re-imagining Reproduction: Unsettling Metaphors in the History of Imperial Science and Commercial Surrogacy in India

Somatechnics ◽

10.3366/soma.2015.0149 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 88-103 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Kalindi Vora

Keyword(s):

Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽

Reproductive Technologies ◽

The Body ◽

Body Parts ◽

Colonial History ◽

Women's Bodies ◽

Commercial Surrogacy ◽

Art Practices ◽

History Of ◽

Travel Industry

This paper provides an analysis of how cultural notions of the body and kinship conveyed through Western medical technologies and practices in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) bring together India's colonial history and its economic development through outsourcing, globalisation and instrumentalised notions of the reproductive body in transnational commercial surrogacy. Essential to this industry is the concept of the disembodied uterus that has arisen in scientific and medical practice, which allows for the logic of the ‘gestational carrier’ as a functional role in ART practices, and therefore in transnational medical fertility travel to India. Highlighting the instrumentalisation of the uterus as an alienable component of a body and subject – and therefore of women's bodies in surrogacy – helps elucidate some of the material and political stakes that accompany the growth of the fertility travel industry in India, where histories of privilege and difference converge. I conclude that the metaphors we use to structure our understanding of bodies and body parts impact how we imagine appropriate roles for people and their bodies in ways that are still deeply entangled with imperial histories of science, and these histories shape the contemporary disparities found in access to medical and legal protections among participants in transnational surrogacy arrangements.

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