زهرا خسروی زاده

 Cryopreservation by various mechanisms, such as the induction of oxidative, osmotic, and temperature stress, causes a reduction in sperm quality after the freeze-thaw process. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the simultaneous addition of chlorogenic acid and lipoic acid as an antioxidant supplement to sperm freezing medium in patients with oligoasthenospermia.

 Sperm samples from patients with oligoasthenozoospermia were divided into five groups as follows: fresh sample (pre-frozen semen), control (sperm freezing medium without supplements), CGA group (sperm freezing medium with 100 µM chlorogenic acid), ALA group (sperm freezing medium with 200 µM lipoic acid) and CGA+ALA group (sperm freezing medium with chlorogenic acid and lipoic acid). Total mobility, viability rate (eosin-nigrosin staining) and DNA fragmentation index (Halo test) were assessed before and after freeze-thawing.

 In the control group, there was a decrease in total sperm motility and viability and an increase in DFI. Freezing sperm in the CGA, ALA, and CGA+ALA groups was associated with a significant increase in viability and total sperm motility after thawing. The results of the Halo test also showed that the increase in sperm DFI caused by the freeze-thaw process was less in all three experimental groups than in the control group, and this decrease was statistically significant (P<0.05).

 The simultaneous addition of chlorogenic acid and lipoic acid to the sperm freezing medium can improve the quality of sperm samples after the freeze-thaw process in terms of mobility, viability, and DNA fragmentation, thus increasing the efficiency of this technique in the treatment of male infertility.

Recent advances in the field of reproductive biology through tissue engineering have greatly contributed to infertility health care and treatment. Current studies on the bioengineering of female genital tissues has created new hopes for people suffering from congenital and acquired reproductive tract disorders and infertility.

This study aims to review the biological materials and strategies employed in the tissue engineering of female reproductive organs and tissues.

In this study, articles were searched using the keywords “infertility”, “tissue engineering”, “female reproductive organs”, “vagina”, “uterus”, “ovary” and “follicle” independently in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google scholar databases. Finally 82 articles were selected and reviewed.

Tissue engineering using biological materials, stem cells, and molecular factors for the construction of artificial uterus, vaginal reconstruction, growth and maturation of ovarian follicles in laboratory conditions, in addition to providing a platform for basic science studies in this field, has provided practical and therapeutic solutions for the female reproductive system disorders and infertility.

The physiological function of female reproductive system can be affected by congenital and acquired disorders, resulting in infertility. Tissue engineering approaches, as functional therapeutic solutions, have greatly contributed to this field through the use of biological materials, cells and growth factors. Therefore, tissue engineering-based therapies can open a window of hope in women suffering from these disorders.

The process of implantation, a critical phenomenon in early development of embryo, is result of regulated reciprocal interaction between receptive endometrium and competent embryo. This dialogue is mediated by cell surface molecules, components of extracellular matrix and both embryo and endometrium secreted substances such as cytokines, growth factors, hormones and extracellular vesicles. Intensive recent studies introduce secreted microRNAs (miRNAs) as novel mediators in intercellular communication. MiRNAs are endogenous small single-stranded non-coding RNAs which involved in regulating post-transcriptionally target genes and influencing various intracellular processes. These molecules can be secreted and delivered into recipient cells where they affect host cellular events through target gene suppressing. Inthis regard, we reviewed the role of miRNAs in trophoblast cell differentiation, blastocyst secreted miRNAs in interaction with endometrium and regulation of implantation. In infertility treatment through assisted reproductive techniques, clinician needs to non-invasive strategies for exploring the criteria to select the best in vitro-produced embryo for transfer into uterine and achieving pregnancy. Here, we also reviewed potential role of miRNAs as biomarkers for selecting of competent embryos to transfer into uterine during infertility treatment such as in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Different studies have been done to obtain sufficient number of neuronal cells for treatment of central nervous system injuries. Adipose-derived stem cells have higher proliferation rate and more resistant to apoptosis. These cells can be induced to differentiate along several multilineage cells such as neuron-like cells. Alginate hydrogel is a polysaccharide polymer that has proper properties including biocompatibility with no immunogenicity. In this study, the effect of alginate hydrogel on the cell viability, proliferation rate and neurogenic differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells was evaluated at 14 days after induction.

Adipose-derived stem cells isolated from human, were cultured in neural induction media and seeded into alginate hydrogel. The cell viability and differentiation efficiency of encapsulated cells were evaluated via doubling time and real time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR) analysis, respectively. The collected data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA test.

The rate of proliferation of encapsulated cells significantly decreased as compared with control group (P < 0.001). The expression of nestin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) markers significantly decreased as compared with control group (P < 0.001).

Altogether cell viability and proliferation rate of encapsulated cells in alginate hydrogel significantly decreased as compared with control group, but alginate hydrogel can promote neural differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells.