Establishment of human embryonic stem cell line Amicqui-2 using poor-quality embryos from Mexican population.

Although investigation with human embryonic stem cells (HESC) is not decreasing, the derivation of new lines has been diminished. The preeminence of only a few HESC lines in research is accompanied by lack of universal applicability of results as well as by genetic under-representation. We previously reported the derivation of one line with male karyotype from Mexican population. Here, we derived one HESC line (Amicqui-2) with female karyotype from poor-quality embryos. These line comply the pluripotent requirements (normal karyotype, detection of pluripotency-associated markers, mycoplasma test and teratoma formation) and could be a valuable model for studying diseases specific to under-represented population.

Association of obesity and overweight with the prevalence of insulin resistance, pre-diabetes and clinical-biochemical characteristics among infertile Mexican women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association of obesity and overweight with the prevalence of insulin resistance (IR), pre-diabetes and clinical-biochemical characteristics among infertile Mexican women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING: Level-three medical institution, an infertility clinic in Mexico City. PARTICIPANTS: We included infertile Mexican women with diagnosis of PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria: group 1 (n=83), normal weight (body mass index (BMI) 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)); group 2 (n=217), overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m(2)); and group 3 (n=238), obese (BMI≥30 kg/m(2)). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: IR was determined by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) >2.5 and pre-diabetes by fasting glucose between 5.6 and 6.9 mmol/L and/or glucose value between 7.8 and 11 mmol/L at 2 hours during an oral glucose tolerance test. We compared clinical-biochemical characteristics among groups. RESULTS: Prevalence of IR for groups 1, 2 and 3 was 19.3%, 56.2% and 78.2%; overweight and obesity increase the IR OR (CI 95%) to 5.3 (2.9 to 9.8) and 14.9 (8.0 to 28), respectively. Prevalence of pre-diabetes for groups 1, 2 and 3 was 7.2%, 17.5% and 31.5%; overweight and obesity increase the pre-diabetes OR (CI 95%) to 2.7 (1.1 to 6.7) and 5.9 (2.4 to 14), respectively. Acanthosis nigricans was more frequent in group 3 than group 1. Free Androgen Index (FAI) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were lower in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3. Progesterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels were higher in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) was higher in group 1 than group 3. CONCLUSIONS: Obese and overweight infertile Mexican women with PCOS, attending to an infertility clinic, have a higher prevalence of IR and pre-diabetes compared with normal-weight women with PCOS. Therapeutic interventions should include those that improved metabolic functioning prior to attempting pregnancy in these groups of women.

Human amniotic epithelial cells as feeder layer to derive and maintain human embryonic stem cells from poor-quality embryos.

Data from the literature suggest that human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines used in research do not genetically represent all human populations. The derivation of hESC through conventional methods involve the destruction of viable human embryos, as well the use of mouse embryonic fibroblasts as a feeder layer, which has several drawbacks. We obtained the hESC line (Amicqui-1) from poor-quality (PQ) embryos derived and maintained on human amniotic epithelial cells (hAEC). This line displays a battery of markers of pluripotency and we demonstrated the capacity of these cells to produce derivates of the three germ layers.