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Life
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From Gametogenesis to Delivery: Advances in Early Life Developmental Environment
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From Gametogenesis to Delivery: Advances in Early Life Developmental Environment

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 September 2023) | Viewed by 4006

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Abdel Halim Harrath

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Lab of Fetal programming of diseases, Department of Zoology, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Interests: gametogenesis; fetal programming; toxicity; natural product effects

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is now convincing evidence that many adulthood disorders are related to early-life alterations, particularly those that take place during the early stages of gametogenesis. The role of the female in reproductive biology is to produce an intact oocyte, which is equipped with the reserves needed for the embryo's early development. During the maturation of this highly specialized cell, many cytoplasmic changes that prepare the oocyte for fertilization occur, equipping the egg with the power to generate a new individual. Indeed, various cellular mechanisms are triggered during the ‎differentiation of the egg, and these mechanisms, which enable egg cell growth and maturation, are principally regulated by both extrinsic and intrinsic cues. Similarly, despite the fact that spermatozoan biology is distinct from oocyte biology, both extrinsic and intrinsic factors may have an impact on the former. In fact, a wide variety of male reproductive problems have also been connected to early-life events that are vulnerable to a wide variety of interactions between the genome and the developmental environment during spermatogenesis. This Special Issue aims to present the most recent studies on the prenatal stage of development, including gametogenesis and pregnancy, with an emphasis on the developmental impact of the early-life environment on long-term health in adulthood. This Special Issue also takes into account cellular and histopathological characteristics, the biological effects of toxins and natural products on gametogenesis and pregnancy, and potential links with disorders.

Prof. Dr. Abdel Halim Harrath
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gametogenesis
  • ovary
  • testes
  • fetal development
  • pregnancy
  • toxicity
  • natural product effects

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 4584 KiB  
Article
Prevalence of Fetal Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Villitis of Unknown Etiology in the Placenta of Saudi Women and Their Association with Baby Sex
by Waleed Aldahmash, Khaldoon Aljerian and Saleh Alwasel
Life 2024, 14(1), 79; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14010079 - 2 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1035
Abstract
Long-term health consequences are influenced by circumstances that occur during pregnancy. The convergence of the maternal and fetal circulations occurs in the placenta, which is the first organ to develop. Placental pathology provides an accurate diagnosis of amniotic sac inflammation, and pathological alterations [...] Read more.
Long-term health consequences are influenced by circumstances that occur during pregnancy. The convergence of the maternal and fetal circulations occurs in the placenta, which is the first organ to develop. Placental pathology provides an accurate diagnosis of amniotic sac inflammation, and pathological alterations in preterm placentas provide evidence for the causes of numerous perinatal pathologies, including spontaneous preterm births. This retrospective study aimed to re-examine placentas regarded as normal by the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at our institution. Thirty-seven male and forty-seven female placentas were collected following full-term delivery, and the grading and staging of any evident inflammatory responses were evaluated and correlated with the babies’ sex. Full-thickness placental samples that were considered normal and not sent to the histopathology department were obtained from the central and marginal regions of placental discs. Morphological examination of the fresh placenta was conducted, and fetal and maternal inflammatory response syndromes were assessed. In addition, placental villitis of unknown etiology (VUE) and chronic deciduitis were evaluated. Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the patterns of inflammation in the placenta using anti-CD8 and anti-CD68 antibodies. The correlation between silent pathologies and clinical complications or the development of fetal inflammatory response syndrome was measured. In this study, 17 (20%) maternal and 10 (12%) fetal samples showed inflammatory responses. The frequencies of chronic deciduitis and VUE were higher among pregnant Saudi women than previously reported, probably because fetal inflammatory response syndrome goes unnoticed in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the prevalence of fetal and maternal inflammatory responses was higher in the placentas of the mothers of males than in those of females, suggesting that differences occur in the inflammatory response in the placenta depending on the sex of the newborn. Grading placental inflammation (in cases of VUE) typically predicts the degree of maternal anti-fetal cellular rejection; therefore, increasing the number of placental samples sent for microscopic inspection may be preferable because of their significance in identifying the causes of chronic disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Gametogenesis to Delivery: Advances in Early Life Developmental Environment)
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11 pages, 549 KiB  
Case Report
Successful Treatment of Infertility in a Patient with Probable 17 Hydroxylase Deficiency and Particularities of Association with Adrenal Autoimmunity—A Case Report and Review of the Literature
by Alice Ioana Albu, Mirela Elena Iancu and Dragos Nicolae Albu
Life 2023, 13(4), 921; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13040921 - 31 Mar 2023
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Abstract
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 17-hydroxylase deficiency (17OHD) is a rare disease accounting for less than 1% of cases of CAH. In female patients, fertility is severely affected mainly due to constantly increased progesterone affecting endometrium receptivity and implantation. The optimal treatment [...] Read more.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 17-hydroxylase deficiency (17OHD) is a rare disease accounting for less than 1% of cases of CAH. In female patients, fertility is severely affected mainly due to constantly increased progesterone affecting endometrium receptivity and implantation. The optimal treatment for infertility in these patients is not clearly established, with only a few recent case reports of successful pregnancies available in the literature. Hereby, we present the case of an infertile female patient with 17OHD who obtained pregnancy through an in vitro fertilization (IVF) freeze-all strategy and particularities of association with adrenal autoimmunity. A 32-year-old infertile female patient was referred for infertility evaluation and treatment. She had normal sex development and menstrual history with oligomenorrhea alternating with normal menstrual cycles. During the evaluation, a reduced ovarian reserve and obstruction of the left fallopian tube were identified, and IVF treatment was recommended. During a controlled ovarian stimulation for IVF, increased values of serum progesterone were observed; thus, all the embryos were frozen and additional tests were performed. Increased values of 17-hydroxyprogesteron, 11-deoxycorticosteron, and adrenocorticotropic hormones in association with low basal and stimulated serum cortisol, testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate were found, supporting the presence of 17OHD. She started treatment with oral hydrocortisone given at 20 mg/day but, because follicular phase serum progesterone remained high, hydrocortisone was replaced by an oral dexamethasone treatment of 0.5 mg/day, followed by the normalization of serum progesterone. A thawed blastocyst was transferred after preparation with oral estradiol at 6 mg/day and intravaginal progesterone at 600 mg/day under continuous suppression of endogenous progesterone production with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and oral dexamethasone. The patient became pregnant and delivered two healthy girls at term. One year after delivery, the presence of 21-hydroxylase antibodies was detected, which might explain the particularities of adrenal steroids in our patient. Our case report demonstrates that a patient with 17OHD can become pregnant through IVF and the transfer of thawed embryos in a subsequent cycle under continuous suppression of adrenal and ovarian progesterone production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Gametogenesis to Delivery: Advances in Early Life Developmental Environment)
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