Project description:Genome wide DNA methylation profiling of normal and ART newborn. The Illumina Infinium 450k Human DNA methylation Beadchip was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across approximately 450,000 CpGs. Samples included 6 normal newborn heelblood, 6 ART newborn heelblood.
Project description:This SMAART cohort study uses bulk total RNA-sequencing to assses the impact of mode of conception on first trimester human placenta gene expression [PMID: 30611556]. Pregnancies were singleton, gestational age 10-14 weeks, normal karyotype, fetal race Caucasian or biracial Caucasian/Asian, and conceived either with fertility treatments (IVF=in vitro fertilization, NIFT=non-IVF fertility treatment) or without fertility treatments (spontaneous, also called unassisted). Pregnancies were balanced for fetal sex. Chorionic villi tissue leftover after clinical genetic testing was collected for research with informed consent and stored in RNAlater RNA Stabilization Reagent (QIAGEN) at -80C until RNA isolation with the AllPrep DNA/RNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN). RNA-seq libraries of >200 nt were constructed with Illumina TruSeq Stranded Total RNA with Ribo-Zero Gold sample prep kits (Illumina) and depleted of cytoplasmic and mitochondrial ribosomal RNAs. After quality check with FastQC, transcript abundances were quantified against the human reference genome (Ensembl build GRCh38) using Kallisto. Differential expression analysis with DESeq2 was performed to compare mode of conception, adjusted for fetal sex and RNA-seq dataset. The dataset adjustment corrected for batch effects from RNA isolation and/or sequencing runs. There were N=141 subjects total, including 74 spontaneous, 33 non-IVF (NIFT), and 34 IVF pregnancies. The subject columns at the end of the DESeq2 files are counts normalized for sequencing depth.
Project description:Differential gene expression during placentation in pregnancies conceived with different fertility treatments compared with spontaneous pregnancies
Project description:Data linking assisted reproductive technologies (ART) with aberrant DNA methylation is limited and inconclusive. In addition, most studies to date have analyzed only a small number of CpG sites and focused on methylation changes in placentas, while data on cord blood are scarce. Our aim was to compare DNA methylation in cord blood samples from ART (N = 10) and control pregnancies (N = 8) using a genome-wide approach with the Illumina® Infinium Human Methylation27 array, which interrogates 27,578 CpG sites. A total of 733 (2.7%) of the CpG sites were significantly differentially methylated between the 2 groups (P < 0.05), with an overall relative hypomethylation in the ART group (P < 0.001). Differences in DNA methylation were more pronounced for CpG sites in certain types of genomic locations and were related to baseline methylation levels and distance from CpG islands and transcription start sites. ART was associated with significantly higher variation in DNA methylation, suggesting that differences in DNA methylation between cases and controls may result from stochastic (or random) genome-wide changes in DNA methylation in ART pregnancies. We identified 24 candidate genes with 2 or more CpG sites that were significantly different between the IVF and control groups. The current study provides support for the hypothesis that ART or associated subfertility may be associated with genome-wide changes in DNA methylation, and these changes appear to be, at least in part, due to epigenetic instability in ART pregnancies. Further studies are required in order to determine the extent to which such ART-related epigenetic instability may have phenotypic consequences.
Project description:Genome wide DNA methylation profiling of whole blood at birth (Guthrie blood spots) and adulthood of individuals conceived by assisted reproductive technology (ART) and matched non-ART controls. The Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across approximately 850,000 CpGs in guthrie cards and whole adult blood.
Project description:Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) account for 1-6% of live births in developed countries. While most children conceived using ART are healthy, increases in birth and genomic imprinting defects have been reported; such abnormal outcomes have been attributed to underlying parental infertility and/or the ART used. Here, we assessed whether paternal genetic and lifestyle factors, that are associated with male infertility and affect the sperm epigenome, can influence ART outcomes. We examined how paternal factors, Dnmt3L haploinsufficiency and/or diet-induced obesity, in combination with ART (superovulation, in vitro fertilization, embryo culture and embryo transfer), could adversely influence embryo development and DNA methylation patterning in mice. While male mice fed high-fat diets (HFD) gained weight and showed perturbed metabolic health, their sperm DNA methylation was minimally affected by the diet. In contrast, Dnmt3L haploinsufficiency induced a marked loss of DNA methylation in sperm; notably, regions affected were associated with neurodevelopmental pathways and enriched in young retrotransposons, sequences that can have functional consequences in the next generation. Following ART, placental imprinted gene methylation and growth parameters were impacted by one or both paternal factors. For the embryos conceived by natural conception, the abnormality rates were similar for WT and Dnmt3L+/- fathers. In contrast, paternal Dnmt3L+/- genotype, as compared to WT fathers, resulted in a 3-fold increase in the incidence of morphological abnormalities in embryos generated by ART. Together, the results indicate that embryonic morphological and epigenetic defects associated with ART may be exacerbated in offspring conceived by fathers with sperm epimutations.
Project description:IntroductionIn pregnancy, the mother and fetus differ in HLA antigens, and yet the maternal immune system generally tolerates the fetus. KIR receptors expressed by maternal uterine NK cells at the maternal-fetal interface directly interact with HLA-C on extravillous trophoblast cells for optimal placental development. In this study, we aimed to determine whether there is a preferential selection for HLA compatibility and specific KIR/HLA-C combinations in uncomplicated and preeclamptic naturally conceived pregnancies compared to what would be expected by chance.MethodsGenotyping for maternal and fetal HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR, and -DQ, and maternal KIR was performed for 451 uncomplicated pregnancies and 77 pregnancies complicated with preeclampsia. The number of HLA antigen (mis)matches between mother and fetus was calculated and compared to expected values obtained by randomization of the HLA haplotype, inherited from the father, over the existing maternal haplotype of the fetuses. A similar methodology was executed for analysis of the KIR/HLA-C data (n=309).ResultsIn uncomplicated pregnancies, the degree of maternal-fetal HLA matching was not different than expected-by-chance values. In preeclamptic pregnancies, the degree of maternal-fetal HLA matching was different in observed compared to expected-by-chance values (p=0.012). More specifically, the degree of maternal-fetal matching of HLA-C was higher in the actual preeclamptic pregnancies than was expected-by-chance (p=0.007). Preeclamptic pregnancies showed an overall tendency towards higher maternal-fetal HLA compatibility, for total HLA matches (p=0.021), HLA class I (p=0.038) and HLA-C (p=0.025) compared to uncomplicated pregnancies.ConclusionThe data suggest that there is no preferential selection of maternal-fetal HLA compatibility in uncomplicated pregnancies. In contrast, increased total HLA, HLA class I and, especially, HLA-C compatibility is associated with preeclampsia, suggestive for a role of HLA mismatches in immune regulation leading to uncomplicated pregnancy.
Project description:Children conceived using Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) have a higher incidence of growth and birth defects, attributable in part to epigenetic perturbations. Both ART and germline defects associated with parental infertility could interfere with epigenetic reprogramming events in germ cells or early embryos. Mouse models indicate that the placenta is more susceptible to the induction of epigenetic abnormalities than the embryo, and thus the placental methylome may provide a sensitive indicator of ‘at risk’ conceptuses. Our goal was to use genome-wide profiling to examine the extent of epigenetic abnormalities in matched placentas from an ART/infertility group and control singleton pregnancies (n=44/group) from a human prospective longitudinal birth cohort, the 3D Study. Principal component analysis revealed a group of ART outliers. The ART outlier group was enriched for females and a subset of placentas showing loss of methylation of several imprinted genes including GNAS, SGCE, KCNQT1OT1 and BLCAP/NNAT. Within the ART group, placentas from pregnancies conceived with IVF/ICSI showed distinct epigenetic profiles as compared to those conceived with less invasive procedures (ovulation induction, intrauterine insemination). Male factor infertility and paternal age further differentiated the IVF/ICSI group, suggesting an interaction of infertility and techniques in perturbing the placental epigenome. Together, the results suggest that the human placenta is sensitive to the induction of epigenetic defects by ART and/or infertility, and we stress the importance of considering both sex and paternal factors and that some but not all ART conceptuses will be susceptible.
Project description:OBJECTIVE:To determine the association between antimüllerian hormone (AMH), a measure of ovarian reserve, and miscarriage among naturally conceived pregnancies. DESIGN:Prospective cohort study. SETTING:Not applicable. PATIENT(S):Women (n = 533), between 30 and 44 years of age with no known history of infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or endometriosis who conceived naturally. INTERVENTION(S):None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S):Miscarriage, defined as an intrauterine pregnancy loss before 20 weeks' gestation. RESULT(S):After adjusting for maternal age, race, history of recurrent miscarriage, and obesity, risk of miscarriage decreased as AMH increased (risk ratio per unit increase in natural log of AMH = 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73, 0.94). Women with severely diminished ovarian reserve (AMH ? 0.4 ng/mL) miscarried at over twice the rate of women with an AMH ? 1 ng/mL (hazard ratio, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3, 4.3). CONCLUSION(S):AMH levels are inversely associated with the risk of miscarriage. Women with severely diminished ovarian reserve are at an increased risk of miscarriage.
Project description:A paired analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated before and after antiretroviral therapy (ART) from a robust number of HIV-infected patients (N=36). Results identify a total of 4,157 DEGs following ART in HIV-infected participants and the transition from a period of active virus replication before ART to one of viral suppression This study evaluated PBMC gene expression in cells from 36 (4 dropped from analysis) recently HIV-infected individuals to identify differentially expressed genes following 48 weeks of ART