P-377 Association between antinuclear antibodies and pregnancy prognosis in recurrent pregnancy loss patients
AbstractStudy questionCan antinuclear antibody (ANA) affect the subsequent live birth rate in patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) who have no antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs)?Summary answerANA did not affect the pregnancy prognosis of RPL women.What is known alreadyThe prevalence of ANA is well-known to be higher in RPL patients. Our previous study found no difference in the live birth rates of ANA-positive and -negative patients who had no aPLs. Higher miscarriage rates were also reported in ANA-positive patients compared to ANA-negative patients with RPL. The RPL guidelines of the ESHRE state that “ANA testi...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

P-365 Pre-selected for an award: Altered endometrial oestrogen-responsiveness and aberrant expression of cell-fate markers may contribute to the aetiology of recurrent pregnancy loss
AbstractStudy questionDo women with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) have an aberrant expression of oestrogen receptor- β (ERβ) and cell-fate markers during the window of implantation (WOI) endometrium?Summary answerWomen with RPL are found to have significantly altered levels of ER β and Ki-67 in the WOI endometrium, possibly resulting in anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic effects.What is known alreadyRPL affects 1% of all women and has been associated with altered endometrial angiogenesis and proliferation when compared with the endometrium of healthy fertile women. RPL can be subcategorised into recurrent loss of a...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

P-240 Human extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by aneuploid embryos potentiate development of non-invasive PGT-A RNA biomarkers and stimulate MUC1 up-regulation in primary endometrial stromal cells (ESCs)
AbstractStudy questionCould EVs secreted by aneuploid embryos a) serve for development of RNA biomarkers for PGT-A and b) elicit a relevant transcriptomic response in decidualised ESCs?Summary answerAneuploid embryo EVs a) contain PPM1J, LINC00561, ANKRD34C and TMED10 in differential abundance from euploid EVs and b) induce up-regulation of MUC1 in decidualised ESCs.What is known alreadyEmbryo aneuploidy accounts for approximately 50% of all recurrent implantation failures in women>35 years old. PGT-A identifies euploid embryos to increase implantation probability but the technology is controversial as it requires an in...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

P-203 Applying artificial intelligence for ploidy prediction: The concentration of IL-6 in spent culture medium, blastocyst morphological grade and embryo morphokinetics as variables under consideration
AbstractStudy questionWould it be possible to predict embryo ploidy by taking into account conventional morphological and morphokinetic parameters together with IL-6 concentration in spent culture medium?Summary answerOur artificial neural network (ANN) trained with blastocyst morphology, embryo morphokinetics and IL-6 concentration distinguished between euploid/aneuploid embryos in 65% of the testing dataset.What is known alreadyThe analysis of spent embryo culture media represents the protein and metabolic state of the embryo and could be a non-invasive method of obtaining information about embryo quality. The impact of ...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-149 Evaluation of structural problems in the application of strict criteria for sperm morphology assessment
In this study, as a first step, variation in the use of the strict criteria is evaluated.Study design, size, durationData from the Dutch external quality control (EQC) program were evaluated in this retrospective study over the period 2015 – 2020. The program consists of four rounds per year and includes the assessment of three photos of Papanicolaou stained spermatozoa. These spermatozoa were dichotomously judged (normal/abnormal) on 14 morphological criteria (WHO manual, 2010). Consensus results of three experts served as referenc e. In total, variation over results of 72 photos (1008 values) was analysed.Participants/...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-148 Sperm Aminopeptidase N as a predictive biomarker of blastocyst development and embryo viability
This study was set in an assisted reproduction unit and in an academic research laboratory. All semen samples were examined and classified following WHO guidelines. Spermatozoa were isolated from semen on discontinuous colloidal silica gradient (45%-90%) technique. Embryo quality and development were determined according to the Spanish Association of Reproduction Biology Studies (ASEBIR) criteria. Flow cytometry analyses of quantitative and semi-quantitative sperm human APN levels.Main results and the role of chanceThe obtained results proved that the most evolved and viable blastocysts were associated with low sperm APN l...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-147 Differential seminal metabolomic signature is related to sperm quality
AbstractStudy questionWhat is the entire metabolomic profile of human semen and does the metabolic composition differ between men with good-quality and low-quality semen?Summary answerHuman semen contains ∼700 different metabolites, and the metabolomic signature differs between normozoospermic men and men with altered seminal parameters. What is known alreadySemen contains a wide diversity of metabolites as has been identified in single and targeted metabolite studies. The full composition of metabolites in human semen, however, is not known. The knowledge of the complete metabolic signature in semen and whether there a...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-146 Assessment of focal and diffuse adenomyosis lesions before and after pregnancy on magnetic resonance imaging : a cohort of 139 patients
AbstractStudy questionHow to assess the different adenomyosis phenotype before and after pregnancy on magnetic resonance imaging according to stringent validated criteria ?Summary answerDiffuse adenomyosis increases significantly after pregnancy while the rate of focal adenomyosis and the mean volume of focal adenomyosis lesions decrease significantly after pregnancy.What is known alreadyAdenomyosis and endometriosis are benign hormone-dependent disorders associated with pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and/or infertility. The natural course of adenomyosis and endometriosis is still unclear, particularly during pregnancy. Pregnan...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-128 Intra-cycle alterations of the uterine microbiota in patients with recurrent miscarriage or recurrent implantation failure and healthy controls
AbstractStudy questionUterine microbiota: are there differences within three major time points of the menstrual cycle in healthy controls, recurrent miscarriage (RM) and recurrent implantation failure (RIF) patients?Summary answerCompared to controls, RM and RIF patients showed an altered uterine microbiota throughout the menstrual cycle, with a lower dominance of lactobacilli.What is known alreadyIn contrast to the former notion of a sterile womb, bacterial colonization in the uterus and the placenta has been demonstrated. Studies showed that Lactobacillus-dominated endometrial microbiota correlate with reproductive succe...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-127 The endometrial tissue microbiota of women who did or did not achieve a live birth within 12 months after a first failed IVF/ICSI cycle
AbstractStudy questionAfter one failed IVF/ICSI cycle, does the endometrial microbiota composition differ between women who will or will not reach a live birth within 12 months?Summary answerThe endometrial microbiota composition did not significantly differ in women with one failed IVF/ICSI cycle with or without live birth, but statistical power was low.What is known alreadyEvidence for the presence of an indigenous endometrial microbiome is mounting, and its composition may be associated with implantation success. However, a ‘core’ endometrial microbiome has not yet been defined, and its role in embryo implantation i...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-126 Endometrial microbiota composition is associated with reproductive outcome in infertile patients
AbstractStudy questionIs there an association between the composition of the endometrial microbiota and the reproductive outcomes in infertile patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)?Summary answerThe composition of the endometrial microbiota (EM) prior to embryo transfer is associated with the different reproductive outcomes: live birth, no pregnancy or clinical miscarriage.What is known alreadyThe investigation of bacterial communities in the female reproductive tract using molecular methods has revealed the existence of a continuum microbiota that extends from the vagina to the upper genital tract.Previous evid...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-125 Development of an artificial intelligence embryo witnessing system to accurately track and identify patient specific embryos in a human IVF laboratory
This study describes the first artificial intelligence-based approach for cleavage stage embryo tracking and patient specimen identification in the IVF laboratory. This technology offers a robust witnessing step based on unique morphological features that are specific to each individual embryo.Trial registration numberThis work was partially supported by the Brigham Precision Medicine Developmental Award (Brigham Precision Medicine Program, Brigham and Women ’s Hospital), Partners Innovation Discovery Grant (Partners Healthcare), and R01AI118502, and R01AI138800. (Source: Human Reproduction)
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-105 High prevalence of obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome in an online community seeking assistance with fertility
This study employed users of the mobile application, FertilityAnswers, for people searching for answers to fertility problems. Users answered a short survey describing themselves, their fertility history and goals. Recruitment for this study began in March 2017 and ended in January 2021. 61814 participants downloaded the application during this period, and 56878 at least provided their age. The primary inclusion criteria were that study participants be US females over eighteen years of age.Participants/materials, setting, methodsRegression models estimated beta coefficients and corresponding confidence intervals. Multivari...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-104 Low SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate in women included in ART programs following the recommendations of the Spanish scientific societies on reproduction (SEF/ASEBIR)
This study includes 2,695 and 4,068 screenings performed in the first and the second survey, respectively.Participants/materials, setting, methodsThe SEF/ASEBIR recommendations describe two screening strategies. Strategy (a) consists in a targeted clinical interview (TCI) evaluating clinical symptoms and exposure risk, first before starting the cycle, and before egg-retrieval, intrauterine insemination (IUI), and/or embryo transfer (ET). Suspicious cases could be confirmed by further RT-PCR testing. Strategy (b) consists in conducting the same first TCI, and a systematic RT-PCR testing before the medical procedure in all p...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research

O-103 The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infertility and endometriosis patients in the Netherlands: The use of telemedicine, quality of life and patient-centeredness
This study was limited to the Dutch population. As the organization of infertility care varies internationally, the results will not be directly applicable to other countries or health care systems.Wider implications of the findings: Virtual care options are a good alternative for infertility and endometriosis patients in situations where physical consultations are not possible. Self-reported stress is especially high in infertility patients during the COVID-19-pandemic. Health care providers should provide more information to patients in order to increase their ability to cope with stress.Trial registration numberN/A (Sou...
Source: Human Reproduction - August 6, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research