Research question

Does mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number predict the reproductive potential of euploid human blastocysts?

Design

To investigate whether the amount of mtDNA in trophectoderm biopsies correlates with IVF outcome, euploid human blastocysts (n = 615) used in single embryo transfer were analysed. Furthermore, to determine whether mtDNA content is predictive of reproductive outcome within a given cohort, paired sibling embryos (n = 78) transferred in two consecutive cycles carried out in the same patient (in which one cycle failed to result in implantation and the other cycle resulted in sustained implantation) were studied. Targeted amplification followed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for two mitochondrial loci (16S and MajArc) relative to a multicopy nuclear genome locus (AluYb8) were carried out to determine relative mtDNA copy number.

Results

Sustained implantation was not associated with relative mtDNA copy number (P = 0.78), and there was no threshold value above or below which ongoing implantation was more or less likely. No correlation was observed between maternal age and relative mtDNA copy number (P = 0.39). In addition, no association was found between relative mtDNA levels of sibling embryos and ensuing implantation and delivery rates in women who underwent a successful single embryo transfer before or after a failed transfer using embryos derived from the same cohort of oocytes (P = 0.70).

Conclusions

In trophectoderm samples, mitochondrial DNA copy number analysis was not found to be predictive of euploid human embryo reproductive competence. These data do not support the use of mitochondrial DNA copy number in clinical decision making when selecting which embryo to transfer.

中文翻译：

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线粒体DNA含量不能预测整倍体胚泡的生殖能力。

研究问题

线粒体DNA（mtDNA）的拷贝数是否预测整倍体人类胚泡的繁殖潜能？

设计

为了研究滋养外胚层活检中mtDNA的量是否与IVF结果相关， 分析了用于单胚移植的整倍体人胚泡（n = 615）。此外，为了确定mtDNA含量是否可预测给定队列内的生殖结果 ，在同一个患者中连续两个周期（一对周期未能导致植入，而另一个周期导致另一对周期）转移成对的同胞胚胎（n = 78）结果导致持续植入）。相对于多拷贝核基因组基因座（AluYb8），针对两个线粒体基因座（16S和MajArc）进行靶向扩增，然后进行定量实时聚合酶链反应，以确定相对的mtDNA拷贝数。

结果

持续的植入与相对的mtDNA拷贝数无关（P  = 0.78），并且没有阈值高于或低于该阈值，或多或少的正在进行植入的可能性。产妇年龄与相对mtDNA拷贝数之间没有相关性（P  = 0.39）。此外，在使用同一组卵母细胞的胚胎移植失败之前或之后成功进行单胚胎移植的女性中，同胞胚胎的相对mtDNA水平与随后的着床和植入和分娩率之间没有关联（P  = 0.70）。

结论

在滋养外胚层样品中，线粒体DNA拷贝数分析未发现可预测整倍体人类胚胎的生殖能力。这些数据不支持在选择转移哪个胚胎时在临床决策中使用线粒体DNA拷贝数。