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DNA Fingerprinting may help identify Viable Embryos for IVF Transfer

rayrubio's picture
Posted May 30th, 2008 by rayrubio

Source: Human Reproduction 2008; Advance online publication

Researchers investigate a novel strategy involving blastocyst biopsy and DNA fingerprinting to identify gene expression patterns associated with blastocyst developmental competence.

MedWire News: Researchers have used DNA fingerprinting to identify gene sequences that may indicate which IVF embryos are most likely to result in a successful pregnancy.

They believe their research could mean the selection of a single "viable" embryo for transfer, which in turn would reduce the risk for multiple pregnancies.

David Cram (Monash University, Victoria, Australia) and colleagues recruited 48 women undergoing IVF. They used a non-contact laser to remove between eight and 20 cells from the trophectoderm of embryos once they had reached the blastocyst stage.

These cells were then analyzed using gene amplification techniques. One or more of the blastocytsts were transferred and 25 of the 48 women became pregnant, with 37 babies being born.

The researchers took blood samples from the umbilical cord or swabs of cheek cells from the babies and used DNA fingerprinting to match these samples with the DNA obtained from the blastocyst biopsies.

This enabled them to know which embryos had been successful. The team identified over 7,000 gene transcripts expressed exclusively in "viable" blastocysts. The most significant of these were associated with cell adhesion and communication.

Cram and team say that once further samples have been collected the viability genes can be refined to produce smaller subsets to identify viable embryos.

Being able to pick a single viable embryo for transfer will "revolutionize the practice of IVF," said Cram.

groups: Infertility
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Re: DNA fingerprinting

Arthur Gazaryants's picture
On May 31st, 2008 Arthur Gazaryants says:

Hi Ray,
It is a bit dubious, few points: I wonder "knocking" cells off a developing embryo using laser, I am not sure if this procedure is as harmless as they claim. In any study the long term effects must be assessed even when it comes to fertility. What is the problem with the multiple pregnancies anyway? it will certainly add a few thousand dollars to the IFV procedure, I am sure there is a cost involved with looking at 7000 gene expressions.

Arthur Gazaryants, L.Ac., M.S.O.M., B.S.
20315 Ventura Blvd, Suite A
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
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DNA Fingerprinting: Clarification

rayrubio's picture
On May 31st, 2008 rayrubio says:

Arthur -

Thanks for the feedback. I want to be clear about something. Because I subscribe to several research reporting databases, I often come across research such as this one that are interesting. I post them not because I advocate them, but rather because they appear to offer new or novel treatment or diagnostic approaches related to reproductive disorders. You should also remember that what was posted was an abstract, not the full paper.

What was interesting about this research - if they are able to reproduce the outcomes in larger trials - is that in the long run it will probably save patients, and the medical system, thousands of dollars. If there were a way to detect the most likely embryos to result in a live birth after IVF transfer, it would drastically cut down on both the number of embryos transferred (and hence the risk of multiple gestation), and the number of IVF cycles required in order to achieve conception.

Obviously we know- and our patients know - how expensive multiple IVF cycles can be. Many practitioners and patients, however, often don't know how much more expensive multiple gestation pregnancies are for obstetric care, postpartum care, pediatric care and so on. Also, remember that there are a few countries in Europe where there is a strong push to limit all IVF"s to single-embryo transfers. This is partially to prevent incurring the costs mentioned above related to multiple births, and partially to prevent the storage of frozen embryos for ethical/religious reasons.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what comes of this type of research. You are correct that we don't really understand the long-term consequences that might occur in the offspring of a couple where that embryo had some cells lasered off during its' early development. We also don't know the long-term outcomes of offspring derived from IVF-ICSI pregnancies. Some early epidemiological studies have hinted at potential problems looming in the not-to-distant future related to health and development problems in children born of IVF-ICSI. It stands to reason that if we force a sperm into an oocyte that could not otherwise make that journey itself, we are obviously removing the last vestige of natural selection....

Ray.

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