Whole genome sequencing showed that the telomeres of white blood cells in "IVF" were short in length

Perinatal and childhood adverse outcomes associated with assisted reproductive technology (ART) have been reported, but it is unclear whether initial leukocyte telomere length (LTL), an indicator
of age-related phenotypes later in life, is affected.
Here, we estimated LTL in 1137 individuals from 365 families using whole genome sequencing (WGS) data, including 202 children conceived by ART and 205 naturally conceived children
from two centers of the National Birth Cohort in China.
A 1-year-old child conceived by ART has a shorter
LTL than a child conceived naturally.
In particular, blastocyst stage embryo transfer is associated with
shorter LTL.
This association
was validated in 586 ART-conceived children from five centers using different LTL quantification methods, i.
e.
, WGS or qPCR.
Blastocyst stage embryo transfer results in shortening
of mouse telomere length on day 1 postnatal (P=2.
10×10-4) and 6 months postnatal (P=0.
042).
In vitro culture of mouse embryos did not shorten telomere length in the late cleavage period, but inhibited telomerase activity in the early blastocyst stage
.
Our findings suggest the need to assess the long-term consequences of ART, particularly for aging-related phenotypes
in children conceived through ART.