Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology最新文献

{"title":"Transcriptome analysis of follicular granulosa cells in young women with diminished ovarian reserve.","authors":"Peizhe Tian, Yanfang Lu, Lei Zhang, Huanhuan Chen, Chenyue Dong, Cuilian Zhang","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01589-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01589-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) is defined as the decline in both quantity and quality of oocytes in the ovarian cortex. In recent years, DOR has shown an increasing trend among young women. However, the specific etiology and detailed pathogenesis in this population remain unclear. Granulosa cells (GCs) play crucial roles in oocyte growth, development, energy absorption, and transcriptional regulation. This study aimed to investigate the differential expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in GCs from young women with DOR, and to explore the potential molecular mechanisms through competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network analysis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 80 young women (≤ 35 years) undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) were prospectively enrolled between April 2024 and December 2024, including 40 with normal ovarian reserve (NOR) and 40 with DOR. Granulosa cells were collected during oocyte retrieval. High-throughput sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed miRNAs, lncRNAs, and mRNAs. Bioinformatics analysis including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment was conducted. The ceRNA regulatory network was constructed using Cytoscape. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the sequencing results.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with the NOR group, young women with DOR showed significantly higher basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, and significantly lower anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels and antral follicle count (AFC) (all P < 0.05). The DOR group also had significantly lower numbers of retrieved oocytes, metaphase II oocytes, two-pronuclear zygotes, and day 3 available embryos (all P < 0.05). A total of 36 differentially expressed miRNAs (5 upregulated, 31 downregulated), 102 differentially expressed lncRNAs (55 upregulated, 47 downregulated), and 234 differentially expressed mRNAs (69 upregulated, 165 downregulated) were identified. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that these differentially expressed RNAs were mainly involved in fatty acid metabolism, AKT-mTOR signaling pathway, apoptosis, DNA damage and repair, and steroidogenesis. Bioinformatics analysis predicted a ceRNA network containing 20 lncRNA-mRNA pairs, 108 lncRNA-miRNA pairs, and 89 miRNA-mRNA pairs. Two potential ceRNA axes were identified by qRT-PCR-based expression validation: lncRNA MSTRG.39605.16/miR-143-5p/FADS1 and lncRNA NONHSAT208904.1/miR-199b-3p/ACP3, both associated with fatty acid metabolism regulation. However, direct molecular interactions within these axes remain to be functionally validated.\"</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Transcriptional alterations in granulosa cells from young women with DOR are primarily enriched in fatty acid metabolism, AKT-mTOR signaling, and apoptosis pathways. The predicted ceRNA network","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13651118/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148456548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An analysis of the outcome of 2,443 women applying to be donors at a commercial egg bank in the USA.","authors":"Allan A Pacey, Emilie Lassen, Guido Pennings, Saghar Kasiri, Anne-Bine Skytte","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01578-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01578-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Donated eggs are essential for a range of Medically Assisted Reproduction (MAR) procedures, but relatively little has been written about how donors are recruited. This study examined egg donor recruitment processes at a commercial egg-bank in Florida (USA). It documents what proportion of applicants were ultimately accepted and, if rejected, at what step, whether this was by choice or selection, whether their initial ID-release choice was important, and how this compares to the recruitment of sperm donors.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Anonymised records of all egg donor applicants in 2018 and 2019 (n = 2,443) were examined to determine the number passing through (or lost) at each stage of the recruitment process and ultimately how many had successful egg retrieval and cryopreservation. Statistical analysis was carried out to examine differences between the initial ID-release choice made by egg donor applicants (ID-release vs. non-ID release).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Few applicants (2.5%) were accepted and had eggs frozen for donation. This did not differ between applicants who opted at the outset to be ID-release (2.94%) compared to those who didn't (2.12%) (X₂ = 1.682; Df = 1; Z = 1.297; p = 0.1947). Most were lost during recruitment because they: (i) did not meet the eligibility criteria at the outset (51.17%); (ii) withdrew, failed to respond, did not attend an appointment, or did not return a questionnaire (26.36%); or (iii) reported a disqualifying health issue or failed a screening test (19.69%). There were no significant differences between the initial ID choice of egg donor candidates and the reason for their loss from the process. This differed from what we know about sperm donor recruitment during the same period at the same clinic. Only two women who were accepted to donate failed to do so because of a poor ovarian response. During recruitment, some egg donors decided to change ID-type and it was more common for them to change from non-ID release to ID release (53.57%) than the other way around (9.09%) (X₂ = 14.920; Df = 1; Z = 3.863; p < 0.0001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study demonstrates how challenging egg donor recruitment processes are, with only a small fraction of those who initially apply ultimately being accepted and having samples certified as safe for use in treatment. The initial ID-release choice of egg donor applicants in the USA has no bearing on whether they were finally accepted as donors or not and is unrelated to their reason for rejection from the program.</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13362209/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148431167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Immune escape in endometriosis: mechanisms, reprogramming strategies, and precision interventions.","authors":"Huiting Chen, Meng Zhang, Weidong Fei, Qiqin Zhang, Yujie Peng, Libo Zhu, Shaojie Ding, Xian Zhang, Zhengyun Chen, Mengdan Zhao","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01584-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01584-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Endometriosis is a prevalent estrogen-dependent inflammatory disorder that compromises women's quality of life and fertility through chronic pelvic pain, inflammation, and reproductive dysfunction. Current clinical management remains largely palliative, with high recurrence rates and limited disease-modifying options. Evidence emerging over the past five years supports immune escape as a lesion-centered framework for understanding disease persistence and recurrence, in which ectopic lesions survive within an immune-active but clearance-deficient niche.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This narrative review synthesizes recent mechanistic and translational evidence on immune escape in endometriosis. We organize the literature into a lesion-centered mechanistic hierarchy encompassing lesion-derived cues, defective phagocytic clearance, impaired cytotoxic surveillance, tolerogenic immune priming, checkpoint-mediated protection, and lesion-supportive inflammatory remodeling. We also evaluate emerging immune-reprogramming strategies, including hormone-sparing immunomodulation, nanotechnology-enabled lesion-targeted delivery, and selected concepts adapted from oncology immunotherapy.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Available studies indicate that lesion-derived inflammatory, metabolic, endocrine, and stromal signals reprogram innate and adaptive immune responses. These changes impair macrophage-mediated clearance, restrain NK-cell and CD8⁺ T-cell cytotoxic functions, alter dendritic-cell-mediated priming and CD4⁺ T-cell regulation, activate inhibitory checkpoint pathways, and redirect inflammation toward angiogenesis, fibrosis, pain sensitization, and local immune tolerance. Together, these processes generate an inflamed yet clearance-deficient niche that may support lesion establishment and persistence. Preclinical immune-reprogramming approaches have shown potential to restore clearance or rebalance pathogenic immune circuits, while nanotechnology-based platforms may improve lesion-local exposure and reduce systemic effects. However, clinical evidence remains limited, and oncology-derived strategies require careful adaptation to the benign, estrogen-dependent, and fertility-relevant context of endometriosis.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A lesion-centered immune-escape framework provides a mechanistic basis for understanding how immune dysfunction contributes to endometriosis persistence and progression. This framework may guide the development of non-hormonal immune-targeted therapies and biomarker-informed patient stratification, although substantial translational validation is still required.</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13637162/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148423746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of uterine peristalsis at the time of embryo transfer on the outcomes of IVF cycles: a prospective cohort study.","authors":"Karim S Abdallah, Kamal M Zahran, Mahmoud A Othman, Ahmed Nasr","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01587-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01587-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>It has recently been discovered that one of the key elements influencing endometrial receptivity is uterine peristalsis. This was a prospective cohort study aiming to assess uterine peristalsis at the time of embryo transfer in women undergoing IVF.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Uterine peristaltic waves were assessed using transvaginal ultrasound by recording a 3-minute video to determine the frequency and the direction of peristalsis. Primary outcome was clinical pregnancy while secondary outcomes were biochemical pregnancy, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and live birth. Outcomes were compared in women who had no peristalsis (Absent group), had one or two waves per minute (< 3 Group), or those who had 3 or more waves per minute (≥ 3 Group).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between August 2023 and January 2025, 127 women were included in this study, of whom 76 (59.8%) were fresh cycles and 51 (40.2%) were frozen cycles. The median number of peristaltic waves was one per minute. Peristalsis was absent in 34 women, < 3 in 72 women and ≥ 3 in 21 women. There was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy rate between the three groups (26.1% in absent group, 36.1% in < 3 group, and 33.3% in ≥ 3 group). The direction was cervico-fundal in 62 women, fundo-cervical in 5 women, and random in 26 women, with pregnancy rates 22%, 0% and 11%, respectively, with no statistically significant difference.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We did not find a significant effect of the number or the direction of uterine peristalsis on any of the clinical outcomes of IVF. Therefore, we do not recommend its routine assessment before embryo transfer until further evidence is available.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>The study protocol was registered on 14 September 2023 at ClinicalTrials.gov (Registration number NCT06036459).</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13352654/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148423744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The endometriosis-adenomyosis spectrum: shared pathophysiology and microenvironment-driven disease divergence.","authors":"Hiroshi Kobayashi","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01588-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01588-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Endometriosis and adenomyosis are common gynecologic disorders associated with dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Although they share several molecular features, the mechanisms by which endometrium-derived tissues develop distinct pathological phenotypes in different tissue environments remain incompletely understood. This review summarizes shared and divergent pathogenic mechanisms, focusing on lesion-specific microenvironments. This narrative review was based on a PubMed literature search from the year of the first publication through December 2025 using terms related to endometriosis, adenomyosis, mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, fibrosis, mechanical stress, and calcium signaling. Both disorders develop in the context of repetitive tissue injury, estrogen-dependent repair responses, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. However, differences in lesion location and microenvironment appear to drive distinct pathological phenotypes. In superficial peritoneal endometriosis and ovarian endometrioma, mitochondrial adaptation primarily supports hypoxia tolerance, oxidative stress responses, angiogenesis, cellular survival, and metabolic reprogramming. In contrast, deep infiltrating endometriosis and adenomyosis are characterized by fibrosis, extracellular matrix remodeling, tissue stiffening, and adaptation to mechanical stress. In adenomyosis, mitochondrial regulation of calcium homeostasis, smooth muscle contractility, reactive oxygen species production, and TGF-β-related fibrotic signaling may play important roles in disease progression. We propose a proliferation-fibrosis divergence model in which common pathogenic stimuli are integrated through mitochondria-dependent responses to distinct local microenvironments. Mitochondria may act as central regulators linking hypoxic adaptation, inflammation, metabolism, fibrosis, and mechanotransduction, thereby influencing whether disease progression favors proliferative expansion or fibrotic remodeling. This framework may provide a basis for future mechanism-based precision therapeutic strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13628830/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148412714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modification effect of multiple gestation on the relationship between maternal body mass index and miscarriage in frozen-thawed embryo transfer: a retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Zhuoye Luo, Lili Wang, Zhiming Zhao, Guimin Hao, Rui Xing, Yinfeng Zhang, Shuo Huang, Aimin Yang","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01586-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01586-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Elevated maternal body mass index (BMI) increases miscarriage risk in assisted reproductive technology, but it is unclear whether this risk differs between singleton and twin pregnancies. Twin gestations impose greater metabolic and hemodynamic demands, which may amplify the adverse effects of elevated BMI. This study aimed to determine whether pregnancy plurality modifies the association between maternal BMI and miscarriage risk following frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this retrospective cohort study, 13,911 FET cycles performed at a tertiary reproductive medicine center between January 2019 and June 2024 were included. Maternal BMI was categorized as underweight (< 18.5 kg/m²), normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m²), overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m²), and obese (≥ 30.0 kg/m²). The primary outcome was total miscarriage (pregnancy loss before 28 weeks), with secondary outcomes including early miscarriage (< 12 weeks), late miscarriage (12-28 weeks), clinical pregnancy and live birth. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), accounting for repeated cycles from the same patient. Subgroup analyses stratified by pregnancy plurality (singleton vs. twin) and interaction tests were performed to evaluate whether plurality modifies the association between BMI and miscarriage.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, early and late miscarriage rates were 11.71% and 4.59%. After adjustment, obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) was significantly associated with increased risks of early miscarriage (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.74, 95% CI 1.31-2.31), late miscarriage (aOR 2.35, 95% CI 1.55-3.57) and total miscarriage (aOR 2.04, 95% CI 1.58-2.62) compared with normal-weight women. Overweight women also exhibited elevated risks of late miscarriage (aOR 1.66, 95% CI 1.30-2.12) and total miscarriage (aOR 1.30, 95% CI 1.13-1.50). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that the association between elevated BMI and total miscarriage was significantly stronger in twin pregnancies than in singleton pregnancies (P for interaction = 0.018). Increasing BMI was not associated with clinical pregnancy or live birth.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Elevated maternal BMI was associated with an increased risk of miscarriage after FET, and this association may be more pronounced in twin pregnancies. These findings highlight preconception weight optimization and support elective single embryo transfer in overweight and obese patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13613619/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148387932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anti-Müllerian hormone promotes minichromosome maintenance protein expression and creatine metabolism in primate preantral follicles under hypoxia.","authors":"Fuhua Xu, Xiaoxiao Zhang, Shally Wolf, Jessica Stanley, Adam J Krieg, Jing Xu","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01580-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01580-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) actions during ovarian follicular development appear to be stage-dependent. AMH expression increases during preantral follicle growth, which regulates granulosa cell proliferation. Preantral follicles are located in the ovarian cortex, an avascular region with limited oxygen supply. Therefore, experiments were performed to determine the mechanism of AMH in promoting cell cycle progression and cellular energy production of granulosa cells under hypoxia in preantral follicles.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ovaries were collected from macaques. Paraffin sections were obtained for immunohistochemistry to detect carbonic anhydrase IX. Preantral follicles were isolated for culture at 5% oxygen in two groups: (a) control media and (b) recombinant human AMH supplementation. Follicle diameters were measured on days 2 and 8. Control media samples were collected on day 2 for no-grow and growing follicles and analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Selected control follicles were stained with Image-iT Hypoxia Reagent. Follicles from the control and AMH-treatment groups were pooled for each animal on day 8. RNA was extracted for RNA sequencing and RT-PCR. Culture media samples from these follicles were pooled accordingly for liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed using mixed models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Carbonic anhydrase IX immunostaining was identified in granulosa cells of preantral follicles developed in vivo. Granulosa cells of cultured preantral follicles were positive for Hypoxia Reagent staining. Although diameters of no-grow and growing follicles were comparable on day 2, growing follicles secreted higher levels of AMH, guanidinoacetate, and creatine. When cultured with AMH supplementation, follicle diameters were larger than those of the control group on day 8. The mRNA levels of minichromosome maintenance proteins 2, 3, 5, and 7, but not hypoxia-inducible factor-1 A, increased in AMH-treated follicles. AMH supplementation increased follicular secretion of guanidinoacetate, creatine, and creatinine.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Granulosa cells of preantral follicles experience physiological hypoxia which can be mimicked using 5% oxygen culture. AMH may inhibit hypoxia-inducible factor-1 protein action via elevating minichromosome maintenance protein expression which stimulates cell cycle progression of granulosa cells under hypoxia. Granulosa cell proliferation is also supported by creatine-mediated adenosine triphosphate production which is promoted by AMH.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Not applicable.</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13602523/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148382693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with favorable semen-parameter changes and normalization of selected abnormalities in men with impaired semen quality.","authors":"Tian Tian, Meiling Che, Kun Yang, Qun Wang","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01585-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01585-2","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Physical activity is a potentially modifiable lifestyle factor relevant to male reproductive health, yet evidence among men with confirmed impaired semen quality remains limited. This study examined the association between self-reported physical activity intensity and changes in semen parameters in men with abnormal baseline semen quality.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;This prospective observational cohort study included men undergoing fertility evaluation at a single reproductive center between June 2024 and January 2026. Eligible participants had at least one semen parameter below the WHO sixth-edition reference limits. All participants received standardized lifestyle counseling, but no specific exercise modality, supervised training program, or physical activity group was assigned by the investigators. Physical activity during follow-up was assessed using a study-specific structured questionnaire that recorded self-reported weekly activity duration and intensity using the Borg scale with a practical Talk Test description. Participants were classified at follow-up as inactive, low-activity, or moderate-activity. Associations with 3-month semen parameters were evaluated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;A total of 1,316 men were included: 434 in the inactive group, 430 in the low-activity group, and 452 in the moderate-activity group. Compared with inactivity, moderate-intensity physical activity was associated with favorable adjusted differences in sperm concentration, motility, normal morphology, total progressively motile sperm count, and DNA fragmentation index. The largest relative difference was observed for total progressively motile sperm count, which was 51.01% higher in the moderate-activity group (95%CI, 18.03%-93.64%; P for trend = 0.001). Although no significant association was observed for normalization of low total sperm count or elevated DNA fragmentation index, moderate-intensity physical activity was associated with higher odds of normalization of low sperm concentration (OR, 2.32; 95%CI, 1.12-4.81), low progressive motility (OR, 1.53; 95%CI, 1.09-2.15), low total motility (OR, 2.17; 95%CI, 1.41-3.36), and abnormal morphology (OR, 1.54; 95%CI, 1.13-2.12). The low-activity group showed no consistent favorable associations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Among men with impaired semen quality undergoing their first fertility evaluation, moderate-intensity physical activity was associated with favorable changes in several semen parameters and with normalization of selected baseline abnormalities. Given the observational design, self-reported exposure, and potential for residual confounding, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and require confirmation in prospective controlled studies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Trial registration: &lt;/strong&gt;Not applicable. This was a prospective observational cohort study. Although all participants received the same standardized lifestyle counseling, the investig","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13602747/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148382768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-dimensional predictive model for diminished ovarian reserve in Hashimoto's thyroiditis: development and application.","authors":"Jiemin Chen, Huohu Zhong, Yanyan Huang, Kailing Tan, Guorong Lyu, Qiuyue Chen","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01582-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01582-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to develop a predictive model for diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in reproductive-aged women with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) by integrating transvaginal three-dimensional ultrasound and clinical multimodal data, to enable early identification and accurate risk assessment of DOR, and provide a visualized decision-support tool for personalized reproductive health management.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A prospective cross-sectional study enrolled 300 eligible reproductive-aged women with HT, who underwent transvaginal three-dimensional ultrasound to measure bilateral ovarian volume, blood flow parameters, and antral follicle count (AFC). Participants were randomized at a 7:3 ratio into training (n = 210) and validation (n = 90) sets. LASSO regression was used to identify independent DOR risk factors for nomogram construction, with performance assessed using ROC curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four independent risk factors were identified: pelvic inflammation history, ovarian vascularization index (VI), bilateral AFC, and positive thyroid globulin antibody (TGAb). The nomogram exhibited a significantly higher AUC than each individual factor (Delong's test, all p < 0.05), with AUC values of 0.989 (training set) and 0.985 (validation set), corresponding sensitivities of 0.964 and 0.882, and specificities of 0.930 and 0.974. Calibration curves indicated strong concordance between predicted and actual DOR probabilities, and DCA showed greater net benefit across threshold probabilities.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The nomogram integrating transvaginal three-dimensional ultrasound parameters and clinical indicators demonstrates excellent predictive accuracy for assessing DOR risk in reproductive-aged women with HT, providing a practical, visualized tool for personalized risk evaluation and reproductive health management.</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13584269/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148362158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prospective clinical validation of targeted long-read sequencing for preimplantation genetic testing of α-thalassaemia.","authors":"Qiuwen Shi, Huiying Fang, Ji Zhang, Ning Li, Changlong Xu, Yuesheng Liao, Ying Huang, Nina Li, Ling Zhou, Rongyi Wang, Jiaqi Li, Rong Li","doi":"10.1186/s12958-026-01581-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12958-026-01581-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) can prevent transmission of severe α-thalassaemia, but conventional workflows remain limited by family-specific assay design for direct variant detection, dependence on additional family samples for haplotype construction, and labour-intensive multi-step procedures across several platforms. Targeted long-read sequencing-based PGT-M for α-thalassaemia (tlrPGT-α-thal) integrates direct variant detection and haplotype linkage analysis within a single assay, but prospective clinical validation is lacking.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective clinical study enrolled 103 families at high risk of transmitting α-thalassaemia at a reproductive medicine centre between August 2024 and March 2025. All families underwent blinded parallel analysis using both conventional NGS-based PGT-M (comparator) and tlrPGT-α-thal.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the primary concordance analysis, tlrPGT-α-thal was fully concordant with conventional NGS-based PGT-M (507/507, 100.0%; exact 95% CI, 99.3-100.0). Direct variant detection was successful in 501/507 embryos (98.82%; 95% CI, 97.4-99.6), haplotype linkage was established in 505/507 embryos (99.61%; 95% CI, 98.6-100.0), and one meiotic recombination event was identified. Among 93 families proceeding to embryo transfer, 57 pregnancies underwent invasive prenatal diagnosis, and all were concordant with the corresponding tlrPGT-α-thal results. Of the 26 comparator-inconclusive embryos, tlrPGT-α-thal resolved 6 complex cases, including cases with incomplete pedigrees or insufficient informative SNPs. Among the remaining 20 embryos with HBA-region aneuploidies, genotype and parental origin could be determined in 12.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings show that tlrPGT-α-thal enables direct detection of diverse α-thalassaemia-causing variants together with efficient haplotype linkage analysis within a single workflow, without requiring family-specific assay design or additional family samples. The method demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy while providing added value in complex scenarios. Taken together, tlrPGT-α-thal represents a simplified and broadly applicable strategy for α-thalassaemia PGT-M.</p>","PeriodicalId":21011,"journal":{"name":"Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13576123/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148346125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}