GSE211597
Effects of Assisted Reproductive Technology on Gene Expression in Heart and Spleen tissues of Adult Offspring
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is an important part of reproductive medicine that comprises superovulation, in vitro fertilization (IVF), in vitro culture of embryos, cryopreservation and embryo transfer. Because it occurs in the sensitive period of gametogenesis and early embryonic development, its possible health effects on the offspring have received widespread attention in recent years. Relevant studies, though, are limited to postnatal follow-up and blood sample analysis. In this study, a mouse model was used to explore the effect of ART on gene expression in the organs of the off-spring using next-generation sequencing. The results showed that it caused abnormal expression in 1060 and 179 genes in the heart and spleen, respectively. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the heart are mainly enriched in RNA synthesis and processing, and cardiovascular system development is also enriched. STRING analysis identified Ccl2, Ptgs2, Rock1, MAPK14, Agt, Wnt5a as core interaction factors. DEGs in the spleen are significantly enriched in anti-infection and im-mune responses and in the hematopoiesis-related pathway "hematopoietic cell lineage", which includes the core factors Fos, Jun and Il1r2. Then, we explored the effects of ART on epigenetic modifiers and imprinted genes. The results showed that 42 heart genes and 5 spleen genes were abnormally expressed, most of which were related to histone modification and chromatin remodeling. Imprinted genes are very important for normal fetal and individual growth and development. It was found that the expression of imprinted genes Dhcr7, Igf2, Mest and Smoc1 decreased in the heart of ART offspring, and the DNA methylation levels of Igf2 and Mest imprinting control regions (ICRs) increased abnormally. Therefore, we con-cluded that, in the mouse model, ART can interfere with the gene expression pattern in the heart and spleen of the adult offspring, causing potentially adverse effects on organ function. The results of this study can provide a reference for evaluating the safety of human ART and helping improve the clinical system. Overall design: Comparison of gene expression in offspring organs between control and ART