{"title":"Dynamin-2 regulates polarized endometrial secretion and epithelial adhesion.","authors":"Wei Zhou, Leilani L Santos, Poppy Downing, Swati Varshney, Evdokia Dimitriadis","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag120","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag120","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In brief: Endometrial receptivity is established through epithelial acquisition of secretory and adhesive competence across distinct endometrial regions. Here, we examined the localization and expression of dynamin-2 (DNM2) in fertile and primary infertile endometrium and evaluated its functional role in glandular secretion and epithelial cell adhesion. Abstract: Endometrial receptivity is established through a hormonally regulated transition from a proliferative, nonreceptive epithelial state to a secretory and adhesive phenotype during the midsecretory phase of the menstrual cycle. Failure of this transition results in implantation failure and infertility. However, the epithelial mechanisms coordinating secretion and adhesion remain poorly defined. We investigated the role of dynamin-2 (DNM2), a membrane-remodelling GTPase, in regulating human endometrial epithelial cell function. In fertile endometrium, DNM2 was upregulated during the midsecretory phase with compartment-specific localization, showing apical enrichment in glandular epithelium and basal localization in luminal epithelium. DNM2 expression and glandular enrichment were reduced in midsecretory endometrium from women with primary infertility. Using hormone-responsive endometrial epithelial organoids, we show progestin-dependent induction of DNM2 in fertile but not infertile epithelium. Inhibition of DNM2 activity selectively altered apical secretions, reducing proteins associated with extracellular signalling, immune regulation, and epithelial interaction. DNM2 knockdown in endometrial epithelial cells impaired trophoblast spheroid adhesion and reduced receptivity-associated gene expression, including STAT3 and SPP1. Together, these findings suggest a potential role for DNM2 in endometrial receptivity and reveal its dysregulation in unexplained infertility.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149114232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag116
Zimeng Zheng, Jialu Shi, Wenjie Zhou, Xiaoxiao Gao, Jun Shao, Li Wang, Tao Zhang, Mingqing Li
{"title":"Altered glutamine/α-ketoglutarate metabolism associates with decidualization defects in recurrent implantation failure and is ameliorated by α-ketoglutarate supplementation in mice.","authors":"Zimeng Zheng, Jialu Shi, Wenjie Zhou, Xiaoxiao Gao, Jun Shao, Li Wang, Tao Zhang, Mingqing Li","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag116","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag116","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In brief: Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) presents a significant challenge in reproductive medicine, with dysfunctional endometrial decidualization being a key underlying factor. This study identifies the glutamine/α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) metabolic axis as crucial for decidualization and demonstrates that α-KG supplementation can improve pregnancy outcomes, offering a potential therapeutic strategy for RIF. Abstract: Endometrial decidualization is a critical determinant of embryo implantation, and disruption in this process can lead to implantation failure. While various metabolic pathways regulate decidualization, the detailed metabolic characteristics and the mechanisms behind this remain unclear. Here we identified that during the process of decidualization, the concentrations of glutamine (Gln) and α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) were significantly elevated. Impaired Gln/α-KG metabolism disrupts decidualization and triggers metabolic reprogramming characterized by decreased oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis, leading to defective trophoblast spheroid adhesion and spreading. Further analysis revealed Gln/α-KG metabolic abnormalities in the endometrial tissue of patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF). Notably, supplementation with α-KG promotes decidualization and improves pregnancy outcomes (i.e., implantation number and pregnancy rate) in mice with impaired Gln/α-KG metabolism. Thus, our study highlights the Gln/α-KG metabolic axis as a key player in RIF, offering a scientific rationale for innovative preventive and therapeutic approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148991316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag114
Pilar Ameijeiras, Emily Kaplan, Adrian Pacheco-Pozo, Arturo Matamoros Volante, Adithi Rajesh, Catalina Curcio, Anna Mellizo Kroll, Haydee O Hernández, Abril Rebagliati Cid, Patricia S Cuasnicu, Ana Romarowski, Dario Krapf, Mariano G Buffone, Diego Krapf
{"title":"Automated sperm tracking using deep learning for high-resolution analysis of motility.","authors":"Pilar Ameijeiras, Emily Kaplan, Adrian Pacheco-Pozo, Arturo Matamoros Volante, Adithi Rajesh, Catalina Curcio, Anna Mellizo Kroll, Haydee O Hernández, Abril Rebagliati Cid, Patricia S Cuasnicu, Ana Romarowski, Dario Krapf, Mariano G Buffone, Diego Krapf","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag114","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag114","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In brief: Accurate tracking of sperm cells is critical in the assessment of sperm motility. This work presents an open-source workflow for tracking sperm of any species that can be readily implemented with any phase-contrast microscope. Abstract: Sperm motility is a key determinant of cell function, and it is critical for male fertility. In the analysis of human semen, motility is routinely assessed using manual evaluation or computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). However, these approaches provide limited access to single-cell dynamics, use proprietary software, and rely on population- and time-averaged descriptors of sperm motion that can obscure both the intrinsic heterogeneity and the dynamic behaviors within individual trajectories. Here, we present an open-source, modular framework for automated sperm detection and tracking that enables trajectory-resolved quantification across species. The pipeline combines deep learning-based sperm head segmentation using species-specific Cellpose models with automated tracking via Trackpy, enabling reconstruction of individual sperm trajectories from time-lapse microscopy. This workflow was applied across four species: human, mouse, rat, and bovine. In human sperm, it was further tested under both basal and hyperactivation-promoting conditions. Detection performance was consistently high across species, with F1 scores, a metric that measures model accuracy, between 0.96 and 0.98 on independent validation datasets. From the obtained trajectories, CASA-like parameters, such as curvilinear velocity, straight-line velocity, and amplitude of lateral head displacement, were computed, showing strong agreement in human sperm with conventional CASA. An automated Python-based software for sperm tracking was designed to facilitate access to the technology. Overall, this framework provides a transparent and flexible alternative to CASA, enabling high-resolution, single-cell analysis of heterogeneous sperm motility and offering new opportunities to study sperm function.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148907168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag107
Katerina B Damyanova, Patricio D Palacios, Bryanna Childs, Andrés Gambini, Stephen D Johnston, Brett Nixon, Jacob Netherton, Yolande Campbell, Joshua J Fisher, Logan McElhone, Tessa Lord
{"title":"Cellular architecture and stage-specific germ-cell dynamics of the koala seminiferous epithelium.","authors":"Katerina B Damyanova, Patricio D Palacios, Bryanna Childs, Andrés Gambini, Stephen D Johnston, Brett Nixon, Jacob Netherton, Yolande Campbell, Joshua J Fisher, Logan McElhone, Tessa Lord","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag107","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag107","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In brief: This study provides the first molecular and morphological characterization of the koala spermatogonial compartment, identifying conserved spermatogonial markers, clonal organization, and associations between urogenital disease and impaired spermatogenesis. These findings establish a foundation for spermatogonial stem cell biobanking strategies to support koala conservation. Abstract: The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), recently listed as endangered, faces significant reproductive challenges compounded by the high prevalence of Chlamydia pecorum infection, which may cause severe urogenital pathology and infertility. Spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) biobanking represents a promising conservation strategy, but its implementation requires detailed knowledge of spermatogenic organization and SSC identity in this species. Here, we provide the first integrated histological, immunofluorescent, and ultrastructural characterization of the koala testis, with a focus on spermatogonia and their somatic support cells. Quantitative morphometric analysis of haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections revealed that seminiferous tubules occupy a lower proportion of the testicular parenchyma in the koala (∼62%) than reported for other mammalian species, and that urogenital disease status is associated with graded impairment of spermatogenic epithelial integrity. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the ultrastructural features of koala Sertoli, Leydig, and peritubular myoid cells, and enabled identification of Type A, intermediate, and Type B spermatogonia based on nuclear morphology and chromatin organization as well as intercellular cytoplasmic bridges consistent with clonal spermatogonial development. Using PNA-lectin acrosomal labelling, an eight-stage classification system for the koala seminiferous epithelial cycle was adapted and refined, with stage frequencies quantified. Immunofluorescent screening of 17 antibody targets identified PLZF and STRA8 as conserved markers of undifferentiated and differentiating spermatogonial populations, respectively, enabling their abundance, proliferative activity, and distribution across the seminiferous epithelial cycle to be mapped. Together, these findings establish the first molecular and morphological framework for the koala spermatogonial compartment, providing a foundation for future SSC identification, isolation, and biobanking.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148866807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag117
Andrew J Piasecki, Melissa Franco, Fausto Capelluto, Konstantin Khrapko, Jonathan L Tilly, Dori C Woods
{"title":"Mitochondria-associated transcription precedes oxidative phosphorylation in human embryos.","authors":"Andrew J Piasecki, Melissa Franco, Fausto Capelluto, Konstantin Khrapko, Jonathan L Tilly, Dori C Woods","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag117","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag117","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>In brief: </strong>Oxidative phosphorylation remains limited in human preimplantation embryos until the late morula to blastocyst stage, when mitochondrial biogenesis also resumes. This study shows a significant shift in mitochondria-associated transcription at the 8-cell stage which precedes the reactivation of oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial biogenesis, suggesting a novel role for mitochondria in preimplantation embryogenesis.</p><p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Mitochondria undergo significant structural and functional changes during human preimplantation embryogenesis, yet the transcriptional activity of both nuclear-encoded mitochondria-associated genes and mitochondrially transcribed genes across this developmental window remains poorly characterized. While mitochondria are established as the primary energy source for the early embryo, emerging evidence suggests they may also influence lineage specification through epigenetic regulation and metabolite availability. To investigate this, we applied a focused organelle-specific transcriptomic analysis framework, filtering expression data from two publicly available human single-cell RNA sequencing datasets against the MitoCarta 3.0 reference database. The first dataset spanned individual cells from the oocyte through blastocyst stage, and the second compared trophectoderm and inner cell mass cells isolated from blastocysts. Mitochondria-associated gene expression was sufficient to cluster human embryos by developmental stage. A pronounced shift in expression was identified at the 4-cell to 8-cell transition, with 115 unique differentially expressed genes across the two stages immediately following this transition compared with only 5 across the two prior stages. This transcriptional upregulation precedes the known onset of oxidative phosphorylation at approximately the 32-cell stage, suggesting mitochondrial roles in early embryogenesis beyond energy production. Mitochondrially transcribed genes were the primary drivers of clustering in earlier developmental stages, while nuclear-encoded genes drove clustering at the blastocyst stage, and mitochondrial gene expression profiles partially distinguished trophectoderm from inner cell mass lineages. These findings reframe mitochondria as active participants in early human developmental programming, with implications for lineage specification, epigenetic regulation, and the optimization of in vitro embryo culture conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148991280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag124
Surim Oh, Eunbin Shin, Donghyeon Kim, Sohyun Hwang, Hyejin Shin, Haengseok Song, Su Hee Seok, So Yeon Ahn, Yoo Ra Ko, Min Kyoung Kim, Jae Kyun Park, Woo Sik Lee, Hyunjung Jade Lim
{"title":"Elevated body mass index is associated with reduced follicular CCL3 levels and diminished monocyte chemotactic activity.","authors":"Surim Oh, Eunbin Shin, Donghyeon Kim, Sohyun Hwang, Hyejin Shin, Haengseok Song, Su Hee Seok, So Yeon Ahn, Yoo Ra Ko, Min Kyoung Kim, Jae Kyun Park, Woo Sik Lee, Hyunjung Jade Lim","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag124","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag124","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In brief: Rising obesity rates pose a growing challenge to women's reproductive health, but its effects on the ovary's immune environment are unclear. This study finds that higher body mass index is associated with suppressed immune signaling in human follicular fluid, including reduced CCL3 and impaired monocyte recruitment. Abstract: Obesity is a major risk factor for subfertility and poor reproductive outcomes in women; however, the impact of elevated body mass index (BMI) on the ovarian immune microenvironment remains unclear. We investigated BMI-associated molecular and functional changes in follicular fluid (FF) and granulosa cells (GCs) obtained from women undergoing assisted reproductive technology and stratified into low-BMI (<22.9 kg/m2) and high-BMI (≥25 kg/m2) groups. RNA-sequencing revealed that high-BMI GCs exhibited suppression of immune-related pathways. Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 (CCL3) was significantly reduced in high-BMI GCs and inversely correlated with BMI at both mRNA and protein levels in FF. Functionally, FF from women with high BMI showed markedly diminished chemotactic activity toward THP-1 monocytes in a chemotaxis assay, indicating impaired immune cell recruitment capacity of the follicular milieu. In addition, CYP27A1, a key regulator of cholesterol and oxysterol metabolism, was selectively downregulated in high-BMI GCs. Together, these results indicate that elevated BMI is associated with suppression of chemokine signaling and lipid-associated metabolic pathways in human GCs. Our findings provide functional evidence that obesity compromises immune cell recruitment within the ovarian follicular microenvironment, thereby offering a mechanistic link between metabolic status and impaired follicular homeostasis in women with increased BMI.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149114308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag110
Mingming Wang, Chaolong Wang, Yiqiu Li, Haiying Fu, Wenjie Lu, Yi Zhao, Jing Liu, Tao Hu
{"title":"Methyl indole-3-acetate mediates myricetin-induced brown adipose tissue activation and reproductive-metabolic improvement in PCOS mice.","authors":"Mingming Wang, Chaolong Wang, Yiqiu Li, Haiying Fu, Wenjie Lu, Yi Zhao, Jing Liu, Tao Hu","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag110","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag110","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In brief: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder with limited treatments. This study shows that the flavonoid myricetin increases the gut metabolite methyl indole-3-acetate, which activates brown fat to improve PCOS symptoms in mice. Abstract: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is frequently associated with alterations in gut microbiota composition, although the specific microbial metabolites that influence ovarian function remain incompletely understood. Myricetin has been reported to improve reproductive and metabolic features in experimental PCOS models and to activate brown adipose tissue (BAT); however, whether these effects are mediated by the gut microbiota has not been clarified. In dehydroepiandrosterone-induced PCOS mice, myricetin treatment was associated with improved estrous cyclicity, ovarian morphology, fertility, and insulin sensitivity. These changes coincided with notable shifts in gut microbial composition and the serum metabolome. Integrated multiomics analysis suggested that methyl indole-3-acetate (MIA), a microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolite, was among the metabolites most consistently elevated following myricetin administration. Fecal microbiota transplantation from myricetin-treated donors partially improved ovarian function and glucose homeostasis in recipient mice. Supplementation with MIA enhanced BAT thermogenesis and the expression of thermogenic genes, whereas surgical removal of interscapular BAT attenuated the metabolic improvements observed with MIA. Together, these results suggest that myricetin may improve PCOS-like reproductive and metabolic disturbances through microbiota remodeling and elevated production of MIA, which supports BAT activity. This study identifies MIA as a previously unrecognized microbiota-derived metabolite that links gut microbial metabolism to BAT function and reproductive outcomes, providing new mechanistic insight into how dietary compounds may influence ovarian function in PCOS.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148888538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Restraint stress impairs oocyte maturation via dysregulating stage-dependent estradiol-BMAL 1 rhythm in mice.","authors":"Jian-Xiang Cheng, Meng-Qi Zhu, Shuai He, Yao Guo, Zhong-Ying Liu, Zhong-Hong Wu","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag118","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag118","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>In brief: </strong>Stress can reduce reproductive capacity by disrupting the maternal clock genes. This study shows that restraint stress dysregulates stage-dependent estradiol-BMAL1 rhythmicity, compromising oocyte maturation and quality.</p><p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Stress is an important cause of reduced reproductive capacity, but how stress-induced endocrine disruption affects oocyte maturation through ovarian clock gene expression and metabolic processes remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether restraint stress impaired oocyte maturation by disrupting glucocorticoid signaling and brain and muscle ARNT-like protein 1 (BMAL1)-associated glycolysis in cumulus cells. Restraint stress caused sustained serum corticosterone elevation and increased glucocorticoid receptor expression in cumulus cells. At 29-41 hr post-pregnant mare serum gonadotropin, corresponding to late antral follicle growth, corticosterone declined while ovarian Cyp19a1, Esr2, and Bmal1 increased. Restraint stress suppressed Cyp19a1, Esr2, and Pkm2, thereby disrupting these temporal patterns of change. During germinal vesicle breakdown and subsequent maturation, corticosterone levels declined while oocyte ATP demand, ovarian glycolytic gene, and cumulus cell BMAL1 expression increased. Restraint stress suppressed ovarian Star and Hk2, and reduced cumulus cells BMAL1. Restraint stress also reduced the proliferative capacity of cumulus cells and decreased transzonal projections formation and glucose transporter 1 expression. In vitro, estradiol (E2) supplementation promoted Per2 and Bmal1 expression in cumulus cells and enhanced glycolysis and proliferation, whereas Bmal1 knockdown impaired metabolic support. These findings suggest that stress-induced glucocorticoid elevation suppresses E2 synthesis and blocks BMAL1 upregulation in cumulus cells, thereby impairing cumulus cell proliferation and glycolysis, reducing pyruvate supsply to oocytes, and ultimately causing insufficient oocyte ATP production and decreased nuclear maturation. This study provides a stage-dependent glucocorticoid-E2-Per-Bmal1-glycolysis pathway in cumulus cells for stress-related abnormalities in oocyte maturation.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148983481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-09-29DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag119
Laura Thompson, Eliza M Murphy, Michael McDonald, Alan D Crowe, Stephen T Butler, Patrick Lonergan, Maria Belen Rabaglino
{"title":"The maternal blood transcriptome reflects bovine fetal traits and can be harnessed to predict fetal sex during the first trimester.","authors":"Laura Thompson, Eliza M Murphy, Michael McDonald, Alan D Crowe, Stephen T Butler, Patrick Lonergan, Maria Belen Rabaglino","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/reprod/xaag119","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite cattle having superficial placentation, the maternal blood transcriptome may reflect fetal characteristics. The aims were to investigate the effects of fetal breed and sex on the maternal blood transcriptome at day 63 of gestation and to identify maternal blood biomarkers predictive of fetal sex across gestation. Blood samples from 20 recipients carrying beef or dairy breed fetuses derived from in vitro-produced embryos were subjected to RNA sequencing. Differential expression analysis revealed 1,095 and 741 differentially expressed genes (DEG; FDR <0.1) associated with fetal breed and sex, respectively. Additionally, maternal blood datasets comprising beef fetuses from gestational days 55 and 105 were integrated to investigate temporal changes in maternal blood gene expression across gestation in response to fetal sex. Co-expression analysis of genes associated with fetal sex identified three temporal expression clusters enriched for metabolic pathways and platelet activation. Candidate biomarkers (n = 43) were identified from the overlap between day 63 sex-associated DEG and two of the three temporal expression clusters. Biomarkers were trained using the day 63 beef dataset and tested for fetal sex prediction using the data from different gestational ages. The resulting biomarkers achieved accuracies of 0.90, 0.75, and 0.90 in the day-55, day-63 dairy, and day-105 datasets, respectively, and an accuracy of 1.00 in an additional dataset comprising beef fetuses at gestational day 42. In conclusion, both fetal sex and breed influence the recipient blood transcriptome, and the identified biomarkers can predict fetal sex during the first trimester. A maternal blood-based tool for early assessment of fetal characteristics could enhance reproductive management.</p>","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149081238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ReproductionPub Date : 2026-09-03DOI: 10.1093/reprod/xaag109
Jasper Verguts, Stefan Timmerman, Stephanie Orye
{"title":"Re: \"Peritoneal hypoxia as a gatekeeper between physiologic retrograde menstruation and pathologic persistence in endometriosis\" Human peritoneal hypoxia may stabilize rather than initiate endometriotic lesions.","authors":"Jasper Verguts, Stefan Timmerman, Stephanie Orye","doi":"10.1093/reprod/xaag109","DOIUrl":"10.1093/reprod/xaag109","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21127,"journal":{"name":"Reproduction","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148875581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}