This study assessed the relationship between regular physical activity and reproductive performance in obese infertile patients who receive assisted reproduction cycles with stable bodyweight. A total of 216 obese infertile women at their first fresh assisted reproduction attempt with stable body mass index (BMI) and available data on their physical activity carried out up to the beginning of the treatment cycle were enrolled in this observational cohort study. Clinical and biological data were recorded and analysed. There were 41 obese patients who did regular physical activity and 175 obese controls who did not. Total pregnancies (16/41, 39.0% versus 28/175, 16.0%, respectively; P = 0.002) and live births (10/41, 24.4% versus 13/175, 7.4%, respectively; P = 0.004) were significantly higher in patients who did physical activity regularly compared with those who did not. After adjusting for confounders, in obese infertile patients who did physical activity regularly, the relative risks for a clinical pregnancy and live birth were 3.22 (95% CI 1.53-6.78; P = 0.002) and 3.71 (95% CI 1.51-9.11; P = 0.004), respectively. In conclusion, regular physical activity carried out before a assisted reproduction cycle is significantly related with improved reproductive performance in obese infertile patients, irrespective of bodyweight loss. Body weight loss improves not only spontaneous pregnancy rates but also those of assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs). Moreover, almost all studies refer to body weight loss due to lifestyle intervention programs consisting in hypocaloric diet and increased physical activity. Instead, very little is known about the specific effects of physical activity alone on human reproduction. Based on these considerations, we designed the present study to assess the relationship between regular physical activity and reproductive outcome in infertile obese patients who receive ARTs. Two-hundred-sixteen obese infertile women with stable body mass index (BMI) and at their first fresh ART attempt were enrolled, and clinical and biological data were recorded and analyzed. Our results demonstrate that the chances to obtain a pregnancy and a baby are 3-fold higher in obese infertile patients who does physical activity regularly in comparison with those who does not, suggesting that regular physical activity before ART cycles improves the reproductive performance in obese women irrespective to body weight loss.

Luteinizing hormone (LH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are glycoprotein hormones used for assisted reproduction acting on the same receptor (LHCGR) and mediating different intracellular signaling. We evaluated the pro- and anti-apoptotic effect of 100 pM LH or hCG, in the presence or in the absence of 200 pg/mL 17β-estradiol, in long-term, serum-starved human primary granulosa cells (hGLC) and a transfected granulosa cell line overexpressing LHCGR (hGL5/LHCGR). To this purpose, phospho-extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (pERK1/2), protein kinase B (pAKT), cAMP-responsive element binding protein (pCREB) activation and procaspase 3 cleavage were evaluated over three days by Western blotting, along with the expression of target genes by real-time PCR and cell viability by colorimetric assay. We found that LH induced predominant pERK1/2 and pAKT activation STARD1, CCND2 and anti-apoptotic XIAP gene expression, while hCG mediated more potent CREB phosphorylation, expression of CYP19A1 and procaspase 3 cleavage than LH. Cell treatment by LH is accompanied by increased (serum-starved) cell viability, while hCG decreased the number of viable cells. The hCG-specific, pro-apoptotic effect was blocked by a physiological dose of 17β-estradiol, resulting in pAKT activation, lack of procaspase 3 cleavage and increased cell viability. These results confirm that relatively high levels of steroidogenic pathway activation are linked to pro-apoptotic signals in vitro, which may be counteracted by other factors, i.e., estrogens.

BackgroundThe assessment of the embryo quality is crucial to maintain an high pregnancy rate and to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy. The evaluation of the pronuclear and nucleolar characteristics of human zygote have been proposed as an indicator of embryo development and chromosomal complement. The aim of the current study was to assess the role of pronuclear morphology evaluation in vitro fertilization (IVF) / intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.MethodsRetrospective clinical analysis on 755 non-elective transfers of only one embryo (ET). Embryo assessment was performed in days 1 and 2. Clinical and biological data were recorded and analyzed according to embryo and/or pronuclear morphology.ResultsBoth pronuclear and embryo morphology were significantly related to clinical pregnancy and live-birth rates. No significant difference in clinical pregnancy and live-birth rates was detected when the pronuclear and embryo morphology assessments were combined. Embryo morphology and maternal age were the only independent predictors of favorable outcome by logistic regression analysis.ConclusionsPronuclear evaluation is effective to select the best zygotes if ET is performed at day 1, whereas it did not improve the clinical outcomes when combined with embryo morphology evaluation in day 2.

Background: An explosive increase in couples attending assisted reproductive technology has been recently observed, despite an overall success rate of about 20%-30%.Considering the assisted reproductive technology-related economic and psycho-social costs, the improvement of these percentages is extremely relevant. However, in the identification of predictive markers of assisted reproductive technology success, male parameters are largely underestimated so far. Study design: Retrospective, observational study.Objectives: To evaluate whether conventional semen parameters could predict assisted reproductive technology success. Materials and methods:All couples attending a single third-level fertility center from 1992 to 2020 were retrospectively enrolled, collecting all semen and assisted reproductive technology parameters of fresh cycles. Fertilization rate was the primary end-point, representing a parameter immediately dependent on male contribution. Pregnancy and live birth rates were considered in relation to semen variables. Statistical analyses were performed using the parameters obtained according to the World Health Organization manual editions used for semen analysis.Results: Note that, 22,013 in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles were considered. Overall, fertilization rate was significantly lower in patients with abnormal semen parameters compared to normozoospermic men, irrespective of the World Health Organization manual edition. In the in vitro fertilization setting, both progressive motility (p = 0.012) and motility after capacitation (p = 0.002) significantly predicted the fertilization rate (statistical accuracy = 71.1%). Sperm motilities also predicted pregnancy (p < 0.001) and live birth (p = 0.001) rates. In intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles, sperm morphology predicted fertilization rate (p = 0.001, statistical accuracy = 90.3%). Sperm morphology significantly predicted bothThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BackgroundIntracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection (IMSI) is still proposed and employed in the clinical practice to improve the reproductive outcome in infertile couples scheduled for conventional intracytoplasmic sperm injection (cICSI). The aim of the current randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to test the hypothesis that IMSI gives a better live birth delivery rate than cICSI.MethodsInfertile couples scheduled for their first cICSI cycle for male factor were allocated using a simple randomization procedure. All available biological and clinical data were recorded and analyzed in a triple-blind fashion.ResultsOur final analysis involved the first 121 patients (48 and 73 subjects for IMSI and cICSI arm, respectively) because the trial was stopped prematurely on the advice of the data safety and monitoring Committee because of concerns about IMSI efficacy at the first interim analysis. No significant difference between arms was detected in rates of clinical pregnancy per embryo transferred [11/34 (32.3 %) vs. 15/64 (23.4 %); odds ratio (OR) 1.56, 95 % (confidence interval) CI 0.62–3.93, P = 0.343] and of live birth delivery [9/48 (18.8 %) vs. 11/73 (15.1 %); OR 1.30, 95%CI 0.49–3.42, P = 0.594).ConclusionCurrent data did not support the routine use of IMSI in the clinical practice for improving cICSI results in unselected infertile couples with male factor.

Cutaneous melanoma is an extremely heterogenous human cancer. The most aggressive melanoma may contain deregulated cells with undifferentiated/stem cell-like phenotype. A critical mechanism by which melanoma cells enhance their invasive capacity is the dissolution of the intercellular adhesion and the acquisition of mesenchymal features as a part of an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of a stem cell-like population in human melanomas by means of melanocytic cell culture analysis obtained from distinct histotypes of primary and metastatic malignant melanoma. Patients with advanced melanoma >2 cm in diameter and/or >300 mm surface were enrolled. The melanoma cells were isolated from skin biopsies of lentigo maligna melanoma, superficial spreading melanoma, nodular melanoma, and metastatic melanoma. The colony forming unit assay and alkaline phosphatase stain were evaluated. Cells were subsequently cultured and maintained in different media to evaluate their ability to differentiate into osteogenic and adipogenic lineages. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry analysis were performed to evaluate antigenic markers CD90, CD73, CD105, CD146, CD20, CD166, and Nestin. This study confirms that melanoma can include heterogenous cell populations with the ability both to self-renew and to a give rise to differentiated progeny. Melanoma cells displayed intratumoral heterogeneity and dynamic antigen phenotypes. Histologically, transitions from normal skin to melanoma were associated with a gradual increase in the expression of CD146, CD20, CD133, Nestin, and CD73. These molecular profiles could be further analyzed and, in the future, used for the development of novel biomolecular targeted-therapy approaches.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

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