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Fertility and Sterility
American Fertility Society
Fertility and Sterility

American Fertility Society

0015-0282

Fertility and Sterility/Journal Fertility and SterilitySCIISTPAHCI
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    Immunology in reproductive medicine: is current testing and therapy justified by science? Tests and therapy in reproductive immunology

    Norman R.J.
    2页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 American Society for Reproductive MedicineImmunology and reproduction are intimately combined in human physiology; however, the mechanisms whereby the uterus accepts the fetus and allows it to flourish remain unclear, at least in the human. The introduction of unproven and expensive tests and therapies to alter immune mechanisms around conception has spread throughout reproductive medicine. Specialists in this discipline need to understand more of the immune physiology of reproduction and be more conservative in the use of therapeutics until evidence-based data become available.

    Immune determinants of endometrial receptivity: a biological perspective

    Robertson S.A.Moldenhauer L.M.Care A.S.Hull M.L....
    14页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 American Society for Reproductive MedicineImmune cells are essential for endometrial receptivity to embryo implantation and early placental development. They exert tissue-remodeling and immune regulatory roles—acting to promote epithelial attachment competence, regulate the differentiation of decidual cells, remodel the uterine vasculature, control and resolve inflammatory activation, and suppress destructive immunity to paternally inherited alloantigens. From a biological perspective, the endometrial immune response exerts a form of “quality control”—it promotes implantation success when conditions are favorable but constrains receptivity when physiological circumstances are not ideal. Women with recurrent implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage may exhibit altered numbers or disturbed function of certain uterine immune cell populations—most notably uterine natural killer cells and regulatory T cells. Preclinical and animal studies indicate that deficiencies or aberrant activation states in these cells can be causal in the pathophysiological mechanisms of infertility. Immune cells are, therefore, targets for diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic intervention. However, current diagnostic tests are overly simplistic and have limited clinical utility. To be more informative, they need to account for the full complexity and reflect the range of perturbations that can occur in uterine immune cell phenotypes and networks. Moreover, safe and effective interventions to modulate these cells are in their infancy, and personalized approaches matched to specific diagnostic criteria will be needed. Here we summarize current biological understanding and identify knowledge gaps to be resolved before the promise of therapies to target the uterine immune response can be fully realized.

    Immune infertility in men

    Leathersich S.Hart R.J.
    11页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022Male factors are implicated as the cause of roughly half of cases of infertility, and the presence of antisperm antibodies (ASA) may be responsible for some of these. Their presence is associated with a reduction in natural conception and live birth and impacts the success of assisted reproductive technologies. Interpretation of the data regarding ASAs and fertility is complicated by a lack of standardization in testing methodology and test thresholds and a lack of data on their prevalence in the healthy fertile population. Although their pathogenesis remains elusive, and many cases are idiopathic, a disruption in the immunologic blood-testis barrier (BTB) appears to contribute to the formation of ASA. As delineation of the specific antigen targets of ASA advances, it has been recognized that they may affect almost all aspects of sperm function, and ASA against different targets likely have specific mechanisms of impairing fertility. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) appears to be the most reliable method by which to overcome fertility impairment due to ASA, achieving similar outcomes to ASA-negative patients with regard to fertilization rates, embryonic development, clinical pregnancy rates, and live birth rates. The lack of consistency in testing for and reporting ASA remains a substantial barrier to achieving clarity in describing their role in infertility and the optimal management approach, and future research should use a unified approach to the detection and description of ASA. Determination of the specific antigens targeted by ASA, and their function and clinical relevance, would contribute to improving the understanding of ASA-mediated impacts on fertility and tailoring treatment appropriately to achieve the best outcomes for patients.

    The role of immunologic tests for subfertility in the clinical environment

    Kwak-Kim J.AlSubki L.Luu T.Thees A....
    12页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 American Society for Reproductive MedicineUnexplained subfertility and implantation failures not only are emotionally and physically distressing but also become a significant obstacle to reproductive-age couples who wish to build their family. Often, the currently recommended evaluation for these couples is significantly limited, and many of causes remain unexplained. To obtain an accurate diagnosis and treatment, proper evidence-based laboratory evaluation should be performed. Immune tests for women with subfertility and implantation failures are essential to recognize the immune etiology and appropriate therapeutic strategies. This review focuses on currently used immune tests for subfertile women.

    Evidence for the effectiveness of immunologic therapies in women with subfertility and/or undergoing assisted reproduction

    Melo P.Thornton T.Coomarasamy A.Granne I....
    16页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022Implantation is a critical step in the establishment of a successful pregnancy, depending on a complex immune-endocrine dialogue between the developing embryo and maternal endometrium. Research suggests that altered immunity in the maternal decidua results in implantation impairment and failure. Immunomodulatory drugs have, thus, been widely used in assisted conception to aid embryo implantation, despite an absence of consensus on their effectiveness and safety. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional studies investigating the use of immunomodulators in women undergoing assisted reproduction. Evidence was uncertain of an effect for most of the included interventions, owing to heterogeneous findings and a paucity of high-quality studies. For certain patient subgroups, however, the use of specific immunomodulatory therapies may offer some benefit. There is a need for further large randomized controlled trials to corroborate these findings.

    Scientific and ethical considerations in using preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic disease

    Komorowski A.S.Feinberg E.C.
    2页

    Should preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic disease be offered to all – or none?

    Treff N.R.Savulescu J.de Melo-Martin I.Shulman L.P....
    6页

    Who needs experts? I'm doing my own research

    Alvero R.
    2页

    The effect of ovarian follicle size on oocyte and embryology outcomes

    Shapiro B.S.Rasouli M.A.Verma K.Raman A....
    7页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 American Society for Reproductive MedicineObjective: To identify relationships between the size of punctured ovarian follicles and subsequent embryology outcomes. Design: Prospective observational cohort study. Setting: Private fertility center. Patients: One hundred fifty-seven oocyte retrievals performed during the study period. Interventions: The diameter of punctured follicles was ultrasonically measured during routine oocyte collection. The resulting embryos were group-cultured to the blastocyst stage and classified into 8 groups according to follicle size (≤9.5, 10–12.5, 13–15.5, 16–18.5, 19–21.5, 22–24.5, 25–27.5, and ≥28 mm). Main Outcome Measure: Rate of good-quality blastocysts per follicle puncture. Results: This study included 4,539 follicle punctures, 2,348 oocytes, 1,772 mature oocytes, 1,258 bipronuclear (2pn) oocytes, and 571 good-quality blastocysts derived from 157 oocyte retrievals. The per-puncture yields of oocytes, mature oocytes, 2pn oocytes, and good-quality blastocysts were associated with the size of the punctured follicle. The rates of good-quality blastocysts per punctured follicle were 2.2% (≤9.5 mm), 6.2% (10–12.5 mm), 11.9% (13–15.5 mm), 14.5% (16–18.5 mm), 18.9% (19–21.5 mm), 17.5% (22–24.5 mm), 15.9% (25–27.5 mm), and 16.0% (≥28 mm). When compared with the overall average, punctures of follicles in groups ≤12.5 mm in diameter had significantly inferior yields of good-quality blastocysts, whereas punctures of follicles in groups 19–24.5 mm in diameter were associated with significantly greater than average yields of good-quality blastocysts. Other groups did not differ significantly from average. No correlation was observed between follicle diameter and ploidy of biopsied blastocysts. Conclusions: Punctures of follicles ≤12.5 mm in diameter rarely result in good-quality blastocysts. The yield of good-quality blastocysts progressively increases with follicle size up to approximately 19 mm in diameter, with no substantial decline above that size. The ploidy of the blastocysts that form appears to be unaffected by follicle size.

    The role of assisted hatching in in vitro fertilization: a guideline

    6页
    查看更多>>摘要:? 2022 American Society for Reproductive MedicineThere is moderate evidence that assisted hatching does not significantly improve live birth rates in fresh assisted reproductive technology cycles and insufficient evidence for the benefit of assisted hatching in patients with poor prognosis or undergoing frozen embryo transfer cycles. This document replaces the document of the same name published in 2014.