The expression and activity of Toll-like receptors in the preimplantation human embryo suggest a new role for innate immunity
AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONIs the innate immunity system active in early human embryo development?SUMMARY ANSWERThe pattern recognition receptors and innate immunity Toll-like receptor (TLR) genes are widely expressed in preimplantation human embryos and the pathway appears to be active in response to TLR ligands.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYEarly human embryos are highly sensitive to their local environment, however relatively little is known about how embryos detect and respond to specific environmental cues. While the maternal immune response is known to be key to the establishment of pregnancy at implantation, the ability of human ...
Source: Human Reproduction - September 13, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

The structure of CatSper is revealed: happy days for sperm biology
CatSpercation channel of spermhyperactivationacrosome reactionprogesteronecalcium influxspermatozoainfertilitycontraceptionsperm function (Source: Human Reproduction)
Source: Human Reproduction - September 7, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Retinal microvasculature and time to pregnancy in a multi-ethnic pre-conception cohort in Singapore
AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONCan abnormalities in retinal microvasculature representing adverse microcirculatory perfusion and inflammation shed light on the pathophysiology of female fecundability?SUMMARY ANSWERIn our prospective study, abnormalities in retinal vascular geometric morphology (i.e. sparser arteriolar fractal and larger venular bifurcation) during pre-conception phase are temporarily associated with a prolonged time-to-pregnancy (TTP).WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYSuboptimal retinal microcirculatory morphology has been associated with obesity, psychological stress and hypertension, all of which are known risk factors for re...
Source: Human Reproduction - September 7, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity and protect healthWealthy nations must do much more, much faster †
The UN General Assembly in September 2021 will bring countries together at a critical time for marshalling collective action to tackle the global environmental crisis. They will meet again at the biodiversity summit in Kunming, China, and the climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, UK. Ahead of these pivotal meetings, we —the editors of health journals worldwide—call for urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5°C, halt the destruction of nature and protect health. (Source: Human Reproduction)
Source: Human Reproduction - September 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

The antidepressant Sertraline inhibits CatSper Ca2+ channels in human sperm
AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONDo selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants affect the function of human sperm?SUMMARY ANSWERThe SSRI antidepressant Sertraline (e.g. Zoloft) inhibits the sperm-specific Ca2+ channel CatSper and affects human sperm functionin vitro.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYIn human sperm, CatSper translates changes of the chemical microenvironment into changes of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and swimming behavior. CatSper is promiscuously activated by oviductal ligands, but also by synthetic chemicals that might disturb the fertilization process. It is well known that SSRIs have off-...
Source: Human Reproduction - September 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Targeted whole exome sequencing and Drosophila modelling to unveil the molecular basis of primary ovarian insufficiency
AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONCan a targeted whole exome sequencing (WES) on a cohort of women showing a primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) phenotype at a young age, combined with a study of copy number variations, identify variants in candidate genes confirming their deleterious effect on ovarian function?SUMMARY ANSWERThis integrated approach has proved effective in identifying novel candidate genes unveiling mechanisms involved in POI pathogenesis.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYPOI, a condition occurring in 1% of women under 40 years of age, affects women ’s fertility leading to a premature loss of ovarian reserve. The genetic causes ...
Source: Human Reproduction - September 4, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Reply: PGT-A for recurrent pregnancy loss: evidence is growing but the issue is not resolved
Sir, (Source: Human Reproduction)
Source: Human Reproduction - September 3, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

PGT-A for recurrent pregnancy loss: evidence is growing but the issue is not resolved
Sir, (Source: Human Reproduction)
Source: Human Reproduction - September 3, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Potential of testis-derived circular RNAs in seminal plasma to predict the outcome of microdissection testicular sperm extraction in patients with idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia
This article was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 81871151). There were no competing interests. (Source: Human Reproduction)
Source: Human Reproduction - September 3, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Association between endogenous LH level prior to progesterone administration and live birth rate in artificial frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer cycles of ovulatory women
AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONIs there an association between serum LH levels prior to progesterone administration and live birth rate (LBR) in artificial frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles?SUMMARY ANSWER: Low serum LH levels on the day before progesterone initiation in artificial frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer cycles of ovulatory women are associated with a lower LBR.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYIn artificial FET cycles, exogenous oestrogen and progesterone are administered sequentially to mimic the serum hormone pattern similar to the natural cycle. In oestrogen-only phase, the supplemental oestrogen causes thickening of the ...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 27, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Longitudinal study of AMH variations in 122 Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) and non-AYA lymphoma patients to evaluate the chemo-induced ovarian toxicity to further personalise fertility preservation counselling
AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONWhat is the influence of age and chemotherapy regimen on the longitudinal blood anti-M üllerian hormone (AMH) variations in a large series of adolescents and young adult (AYA) (15–24 years old) and non-AYA (25–35 years old) lymphoma patients?SUMMARY ANSWERIn case of alkylating regimen treatment, there was a deep and sustained follicular depletion in AYA as well as non-AYA patients; however in both groups, the ovarian toxicity was extremely low in cases of non-alkylating treatments.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYAMH is now well-recognised to be a real-time indicator of ovarian follicular depletion and r...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 21, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Functional ovarian reserve in transgender men receiving testosterone therapy: evidence for preserved anti-M üllerian hormone and antral follicle count under prolonged treatment
This study received no funding. The authors have no competing interests to declare.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERN/A. (Source: Human Reproduction)
Source: Human Reproduction - August 19, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Ageing and chronic disease-related changes in the morphometric characteristics of ovarian follicles in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis)
This study is the first step towards enhancing our understanding of how ageing and chronic diseases affect the relative localisation of dormant and developing follicles. These observations, combined with possible future human studies, may have managerial implications in the field of fertility preservation and other conditions involving ovarian tissue cryopreservation.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)The present work was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research B (19H03801) (to K.K.), Challenging Exploratory Research (18K19624), Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Mochida Memorial Foundation fo...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 19, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Whole-exome sequencing of consanguineous families with infertile men and women identifies homologous mutations in SPATA22 and MEIOB
AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONCan whole-exome sequencing (WES) reveal pathogenic mutations in two consanguineous Pakistani families with infertile patients?SUMMARY ANSWERA homozygous spermatogenesis associated 22 (SPATA22) frameshift mutation (c.203del), which disrupts the interaction with meiosis specific with OB-fold (MEIOB), and aMEIOB splicing mutation (c.683-1G>A) that led to loss of MEIOB protein cause familial infertility.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYMEIOB and SPATA22, direct binding partners and functional collaborators, form a meiosis-specific heterodimer that regulates meiotic recombination. The protein stability and the axia...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 14, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

Analysis of serum and endometrial progesterone in determining endometrial receptivity
This study did not analyse pregnancy outcomes. Further, the findings can only be extrapolated to HRT cycles with micronised vaginal progesterone for luteal phase support.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSOur findings suggest that the combined benefits of different routes of progesterone administration for luteal phase support could be leveraged to ensure an adequate concentration of progesterone both in the uterus and in the bloodstream. Further studies will confirm whether this method can optimise both endometrial receptivity and live birth rate. Additionally, targeted treatment to increase P4 endometrial levels may norma...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 12, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research