Embryo quality and chromosomal abnormality in embryos from couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology using preimplantation genetic screening

Objective:To detect common chromosomal aneuploidy variations in embryos from couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology and preimplantation genetic screening and their possible associations with embryo quality.Methods:In this study,359 embryos from 62 couples were screened for chromosomes 13,21,18,X,and Y by fluorescence insitu hybridization.For biopsy of blastomere,a laser was used to remove a significantly smaller portion of the zona pellucida.One blastomere was gently biopsied by an aspiration pipette through the hole.After biopsy,the embryo was immediately returned to the embryo scope until transfer.Embryo integrity and blastocyst formation were assessed on day 5.Results:Totally,282 embryos from 62 couples were evaluated.The chromosomes were normal in 199(70.57%)embryos and abnormal in 83(29.43%)embryos.There was no significant association between the quality of embryos and numerical chromosomal abnormality(P=0.67).Conclusions:Embryo quality is not significantly correlated with its genetic status.Hence,the quality of embryos determined by morphological parameters is not an appropriate method for choosing embryos without these abnormalities.

In vitro differentiation of human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells to insulin producing clusters

AIM: To investigate the differentiation of human Wharton's jelly derived mesenchymal stromal cells(WJMSCs) to insulin producing clusters(IPC) this study was conducted. METHODS: The umbilical cords samples were collected from full term caesarian section mothers and the WJ-MSCS were cultured from tissue explants in High glucose-Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium(H-DMEM); H-DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum(FBS) and antibiotics. The expression of CD90, CD44, CD105, CD34 and CD133 as well as osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of cells in appropriate medium were also evaluated. The cells were differentiated toward IPC with changing the culture medium and adding the small molecules such as nicotinic acid, epidermal growth factor, and exendin-4 during 3 wk period. The gene expression of PDX1, NGN3, Glut2, insulin was monitored by reveres transcription polymerase chain reaction method. The differentiated clusters were stained with Dithizone(DTZ) which confirms the presence of insulin granules. The insulin challenge test(low and high glucose concentration in Krebs-Ringer HEPES buffer) was also used to evaluate the functional properties of differentiated clusters.RESULTS: WJ-MSCS were positive for mesenchymal surface markers(CD90, CD44, CD105), and negative for CD34 and CD133. The accumulation of lipid vacuoles and deposition of calcium mineral in cells were considered as adipogenic and osteogenic potential of WJ-MSCS. The cells also expressed the transcriptional factors such as Nanog and OCT4. During this three step differentiation, the WJ-MSCS morphology was gradually changed from spindle shaped cells in to epithelioid cells and eventually to three dimensional clusters. The clusters expressed PDX1, NGN3, Glut2, and insulin. The cells became bright red color when stained with DTZ and the insulin secretion was also confirmed. In glucose challenge test a significant increase in insulin secretion from 0.91 ± 0.04 μIu/mL(2.8 mmol/L glucose) to to 8.34 ± 0.45 μIu/mL(16.7 mmol/L glucose) was recorded(P < 0.05). The insulin secretion of undifferentiated WJ-MSCS was not changed in this challenge test.CONCLUSION: WJ-MSCs have the ability to differentiate in to islet-like cells in vitro. However, this process needs further optimization in order to generate efficient and functional IPCs.