Nature: chromosomal aberrations during in vitro fertilization will not endanger the health of infants

The failure of in vitro fertilization (IVF) is usually due to the chromosomal changes of the embryo fertilized in vitro, but it is not clear whether these changes will be transferred to the baby An article published in Nature Medicine recently pointed out that the cell lines mutated by these genes will not endanger the future health of the child DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0620-2 Compared with the mother's body, the growth conditions of the eggs fertilized in vitro are quite different Because of the difference of the growth environment, it is easy to cause the chromosome changes in the embryos produced by the IVF technology, which is called embryo chimerism After fertilization, the fertilized egg begins to develop rapidly There are many genetic abnormalities in some or all embryonic cells These abnormalities are caused by chromosome instability (CIN) When IVF embryos are transferred to the mother, chimerism usually occurs, that is, they contain both normal and abnormal cells Previous studies have shown that similar chimerism may occur in naturally conceived embryos, but it is more common in IVF embryos This has led to a heated debate: does it pose a genetic risk to unborn babies? " Haplarithmisis revealed gene chimerism with parental information In addition to the knowledge of geneticists, this interdisciplinary research also needs to cooperate with clinicians, clinical embryologists and bioinformatists The researchers analyzed the changes in the number of DNA copies from the head of DNA samples taken from cord blood cells and placental tissues, respectively, from IVF and naturally conceived embryos and extra embryonic cell lines, to investigate the possible genetic abnormalities caused by IVF related CIN The occurrence and persistence of change At present, this research is carried out by a high-level computing method called haparithmisis, which can analyze the cell components of placenta, estimate the mother and fetus chambers of placenta, so as to identify the chimeric gene imbalance in the baby's own genome and placenta tissue in detail Studies have shown that CIN is not preserved in the late prenatal development, and the incidence of ab initio numerical distortion or large structure DNA imbalance is similar in IVF and naturally conceived newborns Professor salumets said that further study is needed on the effects of chromosomal instability in dystocia, including preeclampsia and preterm delivery caused by placental dysfunction.