The adverse effects of vitrification on mouse embryo development and metabolic phenotype in offspring.

Embryo vitrification is a standard procedure in assisted reproductive technology. Previous studies have shown that frozen embryo transfer is associated with an elevated risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. This study aimed to explore the effects of mouse blastocyst vitrification on the phenotype of vitrified-warmed blastocysts, their intrauterine and postnatal development, and the long-term metabolic health of the derived offspring. The vitrified-warmed blastocysts (IVF + VT group) exhibited reduced mitochondrial activity, increased apoptotic levels, and decreased cell numbers when compared to the fresh blastocysts (IVF group). Implantation rates, live pup rates, and crown-rump length at E18.5 were not different between the two groups. However, there was a significant decrease in fetal weight and fetal/placental weight ratio in the IVF + VT group. Furthermore, the offspring of the IVF + VT group at an age of 36 weeks had reduced whole energy consumption, impaired glucose and lipid metabolism when compared with the IVF group. Notably, RNA-seq results unveiled disturbed hepatic gene expression in the offspring from vitrified-warmed blastocysts. This study revealed the short-term negative impacts of vitrification on embryo and fetal development and the long-term influence on glucose and lipid metabolism that persist from the prenatal stage into adulthood in mice.

[Effect of human oviductal embryotrophic factors on gene expression of mouse preimplantation embryos].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of embryotrophic factors (ETF) from human oviductal cells on gene expression of mouse early developmental embryos and discuss the role of fallopian tube in early development of embryos. METHODS: ETF was isolated from conditioned medium of human oviductal cell line by sequential liquid chromatographic systems. Mouse embryos were treated by ETF in vitro. Using differential display RT-PCR, the gene expression of embryos treated by ETF was compared with embryos without ETF treatment. The differentially expressed genes were separated, re-amplified, cloned and sequenced. RESULTS: Gene expression profiles of embryos with ETF treatment was different from embryos without this treatment. Eight differentially expressed genes were cloned and sequenced. These genes functioned in RNA degradation, synthesis, splicing, protein trafficking, cellular differentiation and embryo development. CONCLUSION: Embryotrophic factors from human oviductal cells affect gene expression of early developmental embryos. The human oviductal cells play wide roles in early developmental stages of embryos.

A pilot study of pre-operative misoprostol in reducing operative blood loss during hysterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of a single pre-operative dose of sublingual misoprostol on reducing blood loss in abdominal hysterectomies performed for symptomatic uterine leiomyomas. STUDY DESIGN: A cohort of 64 women undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy for symptomatic uterine leiomyomas were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of sublingual 400 mcg misoprostol (n=32) or placebo containing 20mg vitamin B(6) (n=32) 30 min before the operation. The primary outcome was the operative blood loss. The secondary outcomes were requirement for blood transfusion, change in haemoglobin level after operation, and the incidence of side effects. RESULTS: Women who had misoprostol were found to have similar operative blood loss to those who had placebo (570.9 ± 361.3 ml versus 521.4 ± 297.4 ml, for misoprostol and placebo group respectively; P=0.803). This study with a sample size of 64 was sufficient to have 80% power at the 5% level of significance to detect a reduction of blood loss greater than or equal to 30%. There were no observed differences in the need for post-operative blood transfusion (25% versus 15.6%, for misoprostol and placebo group respectively; P=0.536), the change in haemoglobin level after the operation, and the side effects profiles between the two groups. CONCLUSION: A single pre-operative dose of sublingual misoprostol is not effective in reducing intra-operative blood loss and need for post-operative blood transfusion after total abdominal hysterectomies for symptomatic uterine leiomyomas.