Bioactive Materials Derived from Menstrual Blood Stem Cells Enhance the Quality of In Vitro Bovine Embryos.

Backgrounds: The aim of this study was to determine whether the addition of bioactive materials derived from Menstrual Blood Stem Cells (MenSCs) to the oocyte maturation medium may improve the quality of bovine embryos in vitro. Methods: MenSCs were collected from 6 healthy women (between 26 and 36 years old) and after 3 days of culture, their bioactive materials were frozen. The bovine Cumulus-Oocyte-Complexes (COCs) were aspirated from ovarian slaughterhouse and the oocytes with more than three layers of cumulus cells were cultured in vitro in media supplemented with (treatment) and without (control) 10% MenSCs' bioactive materials. After IVM/IVF, the presumptive zygotes were cultured for 8 days. Results: The blastocyst rate on day 8 in treatment group was higher than control (40.2±1.9 vs. 23±4.2.3, p=0.001). The ratio of Trophectoderm (TE) and Inner Cell Mass (ICM) (ICM/TE) cells was also greater in treatment group compared to control (30.3±2 vs. 14.9±1; p=0.001). The re-expansion of vitrified blastocysts, 24 hours after warming, in treatment group was higher than control (93.3±2.5 vs. 66.2±8.8; p=0.01). The expression of some genes related to pluripotency and implantation (OCT4, CDX2, and IFNT) were increased in treatment group compared to control (p<0/05). Conclusion: In conclusion, the addition of MenSCs' bioactive materials during in vitro maturation of bovine oocytes could improve the quantity and quality of bovine IVP embryos. Also, the expression of some genes associated with pluripotency and implantation in the blastocyst would be increased.

The association of -656T > G and 1349T > G polymorphisms of ApE1 gene and the risk of female infertility.

Despite enormous progress in the understanding of human reproductive physiology, the underlying cause of male infertility remains undefined in about 50.0% of cases, which are referred to as idiopathic infertility. Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (ApE1) is a multifunctional protein that has an important role in the base excision repair pathway. The present study aimed to evaluate whether two functional ApE1 polymorphisms (-656T > G and 1349T > G) are associated with the susceptibility of female infertility. Blood samples were collected from 100 patients diagnosed with female infertility and 100 control subjects and genotyped by tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system PCR (T-ARMS-PCR). The results indicated that individuals with the variant TG genotypes had a significantly increased risk of female infertility (p = 0.035, OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.04-3.74). Whereas, a significant association between 1349T > G polymorphism and female infertility risk was not observed (p = 0.1). Larger studies with more patients and controls are required to confirm the results.

Polymorphism variant of MnSOD A16V and risk of female infertility in northern Iran.

OBJECTIVE: Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system defined by inability to conceive after having regular unprotected intercourse. Both environmental and genetic factors can be involved in female infertility. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is a crucial mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme that has a key role in cellular defense against agents that induce oxidative stress. The present study was aimed to evaluate the MnSOD A16V gene polymorphism in female infertility in northern Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples were obtained from 150 patients diagnosed with female infertility and 150 controls and genotyped by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: The MnSOD genotype frequencies amongst the 150 cases were A/A = 27.3%, A/V = 69.4%, and V/V = 3.3%; the A and V allele frequencies were 62% and 38%, respectively. The MnSOD genotype frequencies amongst the 150 controls were A/A = 33.3%, A/V = 48.0%, and V/V = 18.7%; the A and V allele were 57% and 43%, respectively. We observed a significant difference in genotype distributions of MnSOD A16V polymorphism between patients and controls (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: It is suggested that the MnSOD A16V polymorphism may be associated with a risk of female infertility in northern Iran. More studies should be considered with a larger number of patients and controls to confirm our results.