IVF News

Invited Panelists and Topics:

- Matthew "Tex" VerMilyea, PhD (moderator): The ART of AI
- Charles Bormann, PhD: Smart ART: Application of Artificial Intelligence in the IVF Laboratory
- Ashok Agarwal, PhD: Artificial Intelligence in Andrology Laboratory is no Gulliver’s Tale: The Birth of a Lilliputian Semen Analyzer

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Tuesday 26 January, 2021. 8PM GMT / 9PM CET / 3PM EST

Moderators: Dr. Alison Campbell & Dr. Rita Vassena

"Sunk Without Trace? Launching an Electronic Cryo-Management System Shouldn’t be a Titanic Challenge" - Matt Pettit a lecture kindly sponsored by IMT Matcher

"Embryo Road Trip: Moving Cryo-inventory to a New Lab"- Dr. Dawn Kelk

“The Importance of Ovarian Tissue Transportation for Fertility Outcomes” Dr. Janice Vilela

VIEW HERE

Tuesday 19 January, 2021. 8PM GMT / 9PM CET / 3PM EST

Moderators: Professor Allan Pacey and Dr. Liesl Nel-Themaat 

“When ICSI killed Andrology”
Professor Allan Pacey

"The Sixth Vital Sign: What Our Sperm Are Trying To Tell Us?" 
Professor Michael Eisenberg 

"The Male Reproductive Health Initiative"
Professor Chris Barratt 

VIEW HERE

Biomarkers in human sperm have been discovered that may specify whether a father is likely to have a child with autism.

Scientists at Washington State University, Valencia Clinical Research Centre and Valencia University in Spain investigated sperm epigenetics and discovered a set of genomic features, called DNA methylation regions, in sperm samples from men who had autistic children. With this information the scientists conducted a series of blind tests to determine whether they could predict which men had autistic children. The results of these tests showed that they were able to predict men who had fathered autistic children with 90 percent accuracy.

'We can now potentially use this to assess whether a man is going to pass autism on to his children,' said Professor Michael Skinner, corresponding author on the study. 'It is also a major step toward identifying what factors might promote autism.'

The researchers examined 26 men: 13 who had sons with autism, and 13 who had children without the disorder. They discovered 805 different DNA methylation regions that they believe can potentially act as epigenetic biomarkers for a predisposition to father children with autism. In the blind tests that followed, the researchers looked at whether sperm samples had these key DNA methylation regions and correctly identified whether men had fathered autistic children in 16 of the 18 samples.

The scientists state in their paper, published in the journal Clinical Epigenetics, that although significantly more validation with larger clinical test sets is needed, the current study provides the proof of concept that epigenetic biomarkers potentially exist and may be used to diagnose that a father may have a child with a susceptibility for autism. Professor Skinner and his colleagues are currently working on a more extensive study involving over 100 men.

Autism spectrum disorder prevalence has increased from 1 in 5000 people in 1975, to 1 in 68 in 2014. Better awareness of the disorder and improved diagnosis can explain some of this increase, but some scientists believe that the increase may be due to molecular and environmental factors. Furthermore, studies have shown that autism can be passed down to future generations and this transmission is higher from fathers than mothers.

'With further research, this biomarker could also be used to trace how the epigenetic changes occurred in the first place', said Professor Skinner. 'We found out years ago that environmental factors can alter the germline, the sperm or the egg epigenetics... With this tool we could do larger population-based studies to see what kinds of environmental factors may induce these types with epigenetic changes.'

SOURCES & REFERENCES

A molecular mechanism enabling correct sperm motility has been uncovered, shedding light on a key cause of male infertility.

The mechanism, known as glycylation, modifies tubulin, a key component of structures called microtubules which form the sperm's tail, also called the flagellum. Researchers across Europe have found that without this modification, the action of the flagellum is altered, preventing sperm from moving in a straight line towards the oocyte.

'The core of the sperm flagellum is composed of microtubules, along with tens of thousands of tiny molecular motors, called dyneins, that make it possible to rhythmically bend these microtubules to produce waves for movement and steering' said Dr Sudarshan Gadadhar, lead author of the study, who is based at the Institut Curie in France. 'In the absence of glycylation, [the dyneins] became uncoordinated, and as a result, we suddenly saw sperm swimming in circles.'

The study, which appeared on the cover of Science, was conducted on a genetically modified line of mice which lacked Ttll3 and Ttll8, two enzymes essential for glycylation. The researchers then used cryo-electron microscopy, a new technique for looking at molecules on an atomic scale, to study the structure of the flagellum and the surrounding dyneins.

The researchers concluded that, whilst the flagella were correctly built, the lack of glycylation meant that the dynein molecules were not coordinated. This led to disordered beating of the flagellum, causing the sperm to move in circles.

The study may have a significant effect on how we think about reproductive health in humans, where 80 percent of infertility cases have been attributed to low sperm motility. As the paper states, 'considering that human sperm are more susceptible than mouse sperm to deficiencies in sperm motility, our findings imply that a perturbation of tubulin glycylation could underlie some forms of male infertility in humans.'

The authors also suggest that this discovery may have implications outside of reproductive health. This is because microtubules, which form the flagellum, are part of the cell's skeleton and fulfil a wide variety of functions.

'Our findings provide direct evidence that microtubules have an active role in regulating fundamental biological processes via a code of tubulin modifications' said Dr Gaia Pigino, from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany, and Dr Luis Alvarez, from the Center of Advanced European Studies and Research in Germany, who led the study. 'Hence, our work opens a door to a deeper understanding of multiple diseases, such as developmental disorders, cancer, kidney diseases, or respiratory and vision disorders.'

SOURCES & REFERENCES

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Moderators: Dr. Jacques Cohen and Dr. Mina Popovic

"Experience In Transferring Embryos With Segmental Variation And Mosaicism"
Professor Semra Kahraman

“Selecting The Best Mosaic Embryo For Transfer”
Dr. Manuel Viotti

"Communicating Mosaicism"
Dr. Gary Harton

Panelist: Jenna Miller, MS, CGC