Hosseini Samira, Hosseini Sara, Aligholi Hadi, Salehi Mohammad
Department of Neuroscience, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 13;15(1):5419. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-89857-6.
The safety and impact of embryo vitrification as a more reliable approach for cryopreservation in assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) on the nervous system is uncertain. This study was aimed to investigate the expression level of imprinting genes in the hippocampus of offspring derived from vitrified embryo transfer. The hippocampus of the 2-day-old offspring from three experimental groups included vitrification (blastocysts derived from vitrified embryos), sham (the embryos at the blastocyst stage obtained through in vitro fertilization (IVF)) and control was removed for molecular, histological and behavioral analysis. There was no statistically noteworthy difference in survival, cleavage and blastocysts rate between vitrification and sham groups. Dnmt1, Dnmt3a, 3b and Igf2 upregulated in the vitrified group compared to the sham and control groups. The gene expression level of Meg3 declined dramatically and the intensity of DNA methylation in CpG island of Meg3 significantly elevated in the vitrification group. A notable disparity was observed in the quantity of dark neurons in the hippocampus of the offspring, spatial learning and memory abilities between the control and vitrification groups. According to these results, embryo vitrification may alters gene expression in brain hippocampus tissue and disturbs genomic imprinting, dark neuron formation and spatial memory.
在辅助生殖技术（ARTs）中，胚胎玻璃化作为一种更可靠的冷冻保存方法，其对神经系统的安全性和影响尚不确定。本研究旨在探讨玻璃化胚胎移植后代海马体中印迹基因的表达水平。从三个实验组收集2日龄后代的海马体进行分子、组织学和行为分析，这三个实验组分别为玻璃化组（来自玻璃化胚胎的囊胚）、假手术组（通过体外受精（IVF）获得的囊胚期胚胎）和对照组。玻璃化组与假手术组在存活率、卵裂率和囊胚率方面无统计学上的显著差异。与假手术组和对照组相比，玻璃化组中Dnmt1、Dnmt3a、3b和Igf2表达上调。玻璃化组中Meg3的基因表达水平显著下降，Meg3的CpG岛中的DNA甲基化强度显著升高。在对照组和玻璃化组后代的海马体中，暗神经元数量、空间学习和记忆能力方面观察到显著差异。根据这些结果，胚胎玻璃化可能会改变脑海马体组织中的基因表达，扰乱基因组印记、暗神经元形成和空间记忆。
