Correlation of body mass index with Th1/Th2 balance, adhesion molecules and insulin signal transduction in infertile patients

Objective: To study the correlation of body mass index with Th1/Th2 balance, adhesion molecules and insulin signal transduction in infertile patients. Methods: A total of 132 patients who received diagnostic curettage due to infertility in Tangshan Maternal and Child Health Hospital between June 2015 and March 2016 were selected as the research subjects and divided into the normal group with BMI<25 kg/m2, the overweight group with BMI 25-30 kg/m2 and the obesity group with BMI > 30 kg/m2 according to BMI, and the levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines in serum as well as the expression of Th1/Th2 transcription factors, adhesion molecules and insulin signal pathway molecules in endometrial tissue were detected. Results:IFN-γ and TNF-α levels in serum of obesity group and overweight group were significantly higher than those of control group while IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 levels in serum as well as CD44V6, N-cadherin, FAK, ICAM-1, GLUT-4, IRS-1, PI3K and AKT mRNA expression in endometrial tissue were significantly lower than those of control group;IFN-γ and TNF-α levels in serum of obesity group were significantly higher than those of overweight group while IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 levels in serum as well as CD44V6, N-cadherin, FAK, ICAM-1, GLUT-4, IRS-1, PI3K and AKT mRNA expression in endometrial tissue were significantly lower than those of overweight group. Conclusion: Weight gain can aggravate the Th1/Th2 disorder, reduce the adhesion molecule expression and hinder the insulin signal transduction in infertile patients.

Altered microRNA expression profiles of human spermatozoa in normal fertile men of different ages

MicroRNAs(miRNAs)are mediators of the aging process.The purpose of this work was to analyze the miRNA expression profiles of spermatozoa from men of different ages with normal fertility.Twenty-seven donors were divided into three groups by age(Group A,n=8,age:20–30 years;Group B,n=10,age:31–40 years;and Group C,n=9,age:41–55 years)for high-throughput sequencing analysis.Samples from 65 individuals(22,22,and 21 in Groups A,B,and C,respectively)were used for validation by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR).A total of 2160 miRNAs were detected:1223 were known,937 were newly discovered and unnamed,of which 191 were expressed in all donors.A total of 7,5,and 17 differentially expressed microRNAs(DEMs)were found in Group A vs B,Group B vs C,and Group A vs C comparisons,respectively.Twenty-two miRNAs were statistically correlated with age.Twelve miRNAs were identified as age-associated miRNAs,including hsa-miR-127-3p,mmu-miR-5100_L+2R-1,efu-miR-9226_L-2_1ss22GA,cgr-miR-1260_L+1,hsa-miR-652-3p_R+1,pal-miR-9993a-3p_L+2R-1,hsa-miR-7977_1ss6AG,hsa-miR-106b-3p_R-1,hsa-miR-186-5p,PC-3p-59611_111,hsa-miR-93-3p_R+1,and aeca-mir-8986ap5_1ss1GA.There were 9165 target genes of age-associated miRNAs.Gene Ontology(GO)analysis of the target genes identified revealed enrichment of protein binding,membrane,cell cycle,and so on.The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)enrichment analysis of age-related miRNAs for target genes revealed 139 enriched pathways,such as signaling pathways regulating stem cell pluripotency,metabolic pathways,and the Hippo signaling pathway.This suggests that miRNAs play a key role in male fertility changes with increasing age and provides new evidence for the study of the mechanism of age-related male fertility decline.

Advantages and limitations of the parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells in cell therapy

Parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells（pE SCs）, as ＂seed cells＂ for regenerative medicine, are an effective way to build patient-specific pluripotent stem cells, due to the fact that characteristics of self-renewal and pluripotent are similar to embryonic stem cells（ESCs）. Parthenogenetic activation can be performed at meiosis I or meiosis II describing the embryos with distinct patterns of homozygosity and heterozygosity.Heterozygous pE SCs are expected to be used for autologous transplantation, while homozygous pE SCs enable to be used for allogeneic gene therapy in theory but is hampered by immunological barriers defined by the recognition of natural killer（NK）cells. In this review, we describe the mechanism of deriving heterozygous and homozygous pE SCs, and summarize the advantages and limitations of pE SCs in the area of cell therapy.