The impact of assisted reproductive technologies on genomic imprinting and imprinting disorders. 2014

Asli Uyar, and Emre Seli
aDepartment of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA bDepartment of Computer Engineering, Okan University, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey.

OBJECTIVE Genomic imprinting refers to preferential allele-specific gene expression. DNA methylation-based molecular mechanisms regulate establishment and maintenance of parental imprints during early embryo development and gametogenesis. Because of the coincident timing, a potential association between assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures and imprinting defects has been investigated in various studies. In this review, we provide an overview of genomic imprinting and present a summary of the relevant clinical data. RESULTS ART procedures affect DNA methylation pattern, parental imprinting status, and imprinted gene expression in the mouse embryo. In humans, several case series suggested an association between ART and imprinting disorders, with a three-fold to six-fold higher prevalence of ART use among children born with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome compared to the general population. However, more recent studies failed to support these findings and could not demonstrate an association between imprinting disorders and ARTs, independent of subfertility. CONCLUSIONS ART procedures may affect methylation status of imprinted regions in the DNA, leading to imprinting disorders. Although the low prevalence of imprinting disorders makes it challenging to perform conclusive clinical trials, further studies in large registries are required to determine the real impact of ARTs on their occurrence.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007231 Infant, Newborn An infant during the first 28 days after birth. Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D007246 Infertility A reduced or absent capacity to reproduce. Sterility,Reproductive Sterility,Sterility, Reproductive,Sub-Fertility,Subfertility
D008297 Male Males
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001506 Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome A syndrome of multiple defects characterized primarily by umbilical hernia (HERNIA, UMBILICAL); MACROGLOSSIA; and GIGANTISM; and secondarily by visceromegaly; HYPOGLYCEMIA; and ear abnormalities. Wiedemann Syndrome,Wiedemann-Beckwith Syndrome,Wiedemann-Beckwith Syndrome (WBS),EMG Syndrome,Exomphalos-Macroglossia-Gigantism Syndrome,Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome,EMG Syndromes,Exomphalos Macroglossia Gigantism Syndrome,Exomphalos-Macroglossia-Gigantism Syndromes,Syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann,Syndrome, EMG,Syndrome, Exomphalos-Macroglossia-Gigantism,Syndrome, Wiedemann,Syndrome, Wiedemann-Beckwith,Syndrome, Wiedemann-Beckwith (WBS),Wiedemann Beckwith Syndrome,Wiedemann Beckwith Syndrome (WBS),Wiedemann Syndromes,Wiedemann-Beckwith Syndromes (WBS)
D012307 Risk Factors An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which, based on epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent. Health Correlates,Risk Factor Scores,Risk Scores,Social Risk Factors,Population at Risk,Populations at Risk,Correlates, Health,Factor, Risk,Factor, Social Risk,Factors, Social Risk,Risk Factor,Risk Factor Score,Risk Factor, Social,Risk Factors, Social,Risk Score,Score, Risk,Score, Risk Factor,Social Risk Factor
D044127 Epigenesis, Genetic A genetic process by which the adult organism is realized via mechanisms that lead to the restriction in the possible fates of cells, eventually leading to their differentiated state. Mechanisms involved cause heritable changes to cells without changes to DNA sequence such as DNA METHYLATION; HISTONE modification; DNA REPLICATION TIMING; NUCLEOSOME positioning; and heterochromatization which result in selective gene expression or repression. Epigenetic Processes,Epigenetic Process,Epigenetics Processes,Genetic Epigenesis,Process, Epigenetic,Processes, Epigenetic,Processes, Epigenetics

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