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Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology
Published in: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Research

The placental transcriptome of the first-trimester placenta is affected by in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer

Authors: Liang Zhao, Xiuli Zheng, Jingfang Liu, Rong Zheng, Rui Yang, Ying Wang, Lifang Sun

Published in: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Background

The placenta is a highly specialized temporary organ that is related to fetal development and pregnancy outcomes, and epidemiological data demonstrate an increased risk of placental abnormality after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET).

Methods

This study examines alterations in the transcriptome profile of first-trimester placentas from IVF-ET pregnancies and analyzes the potential mechanisms that play a role in the adverse perinatal outcomes associated with IVF-ET procedures. Four human placental villi from first-trimester samples were obtained through fetal bud aspiration from patients subjected to IVF-ET due to oviductal factors. An additional four control human placental villi were derived from a group of subjects who spontaneously conceived a twin pregnancy. We analyzed their transcriptomes by microarray. Then, RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry were utilized to analyze several dysregulated genes to validate the microarray results. Biological functions and pathways were analyzed with bioinformatics tools.

Results

A total of 3405 differentially regulated genes were identified as significantly dysregulated (> 2-fold change; P < 0.05) in the IVF-ET placenta in the first trimester: 1910 upregulated and 1495 downregulated genes. Functional enrichment analysis of the differentially regulated genes demonstrated that the genes were involved in more than 50 biological processes and pathways that have been shown to play important roles in the first trimester in vivo. These pathways can be clustered into coagulation cascades, immune response, transmembrane signaling, metabolism, cell cycle, stress control, invasion and vascularization. Nearly the same number of up- and downregulated genes participate in the same biological processes related to placental development and maintenance. Procedures utilized in IVF-ET altered the expression of first-trimester placental genes that are critical to these biological processes and triggered a compensatory mechanism during early implantation in vivo.

Conclusion

These data provide a potential basis for further analysis of the higher frequency of adverse perinatal outcomes following IVF-ET, with the ultimate goal of developing safer IVF-ET protocols.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
The placental transcriptome of the first-trimester placenta is affected by in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer
Authors
Liang Zhao
Xiuli Zheng
Jingfang Liu
Rong Zheng
Rui Yang
Ying Wang
Lifang Sun
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7827
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-019-0494-7

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