Smoking: An Important Environmental Risk Factor in Pregnancy

It is generally recognized that smoking has been one of the most public health disorders around the world. Nowadays, more and more studies have proved that smoking during pregnancy is responsible for both maternal and fetal health disorders along with several general health effects. It may lead to various kinds of pregnancy illness and cause risk to the fetus during perinatal stage. After birth, this behavior can also have harmful influences on neonates, and even on children. However, smoking during pregnancy has several adverse effects, the molecular mechanism of it remains unclear. Recently, some studies have proved that it is associated with aberrant epigenetic modifications. All of these remind us that more attention should be paid to maternal cigarette smoking, and more studies should be carried out to confirm the effects and investigate the molecular mechanisms. In this chapter, a brief review is given on the perinatal effects and long-term influences of maternal and passive smoking. We also briefly clarify the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of passive smoking during pregnancy

Environmental Factors and Male Infertility

A significant decrease in human fertility has been observed in the last 50 years. Approximately 15% of couples of reproductive age have fertility problems and about half of these cases are because of male factors. A growing body of evidence suggests that environmental factors play an important role in the causes of male infertility. Our environment is contaminated by natural and synthetic chemicals, which could interact with the endocrine system, resulting in the reduction of human fertility. Studies carried out in recent years have proven that endocrine-disrupting chemicals may disturb fertility of men. Improper lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, high temperature, radiation also have negative impact on male fertility. This chapter is an overview of recent developments about the importance of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and lifestyle factors’ effects on sperm counts and male fertility in human

Infection and Infertility

Infection is a multifactorial process, which can be induced by a virus, bacterium, or parasite. It may cause many diseases, including obesity, cancer, and infertility. In this chapter, we focus our attention on the association of infection and fertility alteration. Numerous studies have suggested that genetic polymorphisms influencing infection are associated with infertility. So we also review the genetic influence on infection and risk of infertility

Oxytocin and Pregnancy

Oxytocin, an important neuropeptide, exerts a wide influence on the central nervous system and the peripheral tissues. In the central nervous system, the oxytocin gene expression is mainly shown to be present in neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. Oxytocin gene also transcribes in the peripheral tissues such as uterus, placenta, and amnion. Oxytocin receptors can be founded in many tissues in humans, like the uterine, ovary, testis, kidney, and so on. And just in the same tissue, due to the variation of physiology factors, the amount of oxytocin changes a lot. Oxytocin secretion is closely linked with pregnancy advancing. During labor, the contractions of uterine smooth muscles and oxytocin secretion are inseparable. Moreover, oxytocin is also responsible for stimulating milk ejection after parturition. Oxytocin is associated with many diseases. Poor regulation of oxytocin may cause postpartum depression and infantile autism. In terms of physiology, fatal heart failure and gestational hypertension are concerned with oxytocin level. In this chapter, we will discuss the oxytocin in pregnancy as well as its clinical applications

Prenatal Diagnosis: The Main Advances in the Application of Identification of Biomarkers Based on Multi-Omics

Prenatal diagnosis is to make the diagnosis of fetal structural abnormalities, genetic diseases, and pregnancy-related diseases before birth thus could offer evidence for intrauterine treatment or selectively termination of pregnancy. Up to now, researchers have applied multi-omics, including genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, in the discovery of prenatal diagnostic biomarkers. They have found some candidate biomarkers for aneuploids, preeclampsia, intrauterine growth retardation, and congenital structural abnormalities. With the momentous progress of biomarkers’ identification based on multi-omics for prenatal diagnosis, noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has experienced tremendous progress and is revolutionizing prenatal screening and diagnosis over the past few decades. Extensive studies have also demonstrated the value of biomarkers. In particular, cell-free DNA (cfDNA), allows for a definitive diagnosis in early pregnancy for fetal diseases, including Down syndrome and other common aneuploidies. The cfDNA can be extracted from maternal plasma, posing no risk of miscarriage compared to the traditional invasive diagnosis directly analyzing fetal cells from amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. In this review, we would discuss the main advances, strengths, and limitations in the application of biomarkers for prenatal diagnosis along with the analysis of several representative fetal diseases

Seminal plasma metabolomics approach for the diagnosis of unexplained male infertility.

We used a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) based metabolomics approach to obtain the metabolic profiling of unexplained male infertility (UMI), and identified seminal plasma biomarkers associated with UMI by a two-stage population study. A robust OPLS-DA model based on these identified metabolites was able to distinguish 82% of the UMI patients from health controls with a specificity of 92%. In this model, 44 metabolites were found differentially expressed in UMI subjects compared with health controls. By pathway enrichment analysis, we identified several major changed metabolic pathways related to UMI. Our findings provide new perspective for the diagnosis of UMI

Association between prenatal perfluorinated compounds exposure and risk of pregnancy complications: A meta-analysis

Background and objective: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been shown to be persistent and bioaccumulative. An elevated danger of pregnancy complications perhaps connected with exposure to PFASs, but the potential effects remain elusive. The objective of this study is to investigate the possible association between PFASs exposure and pregnancy complications, drawing upon existing evidence. Methods: Electronic databases of PubMed, Qvid Medline, Embase, and Web of Science were searched thoroughly to identify eligible research published prior to November 28, 2023, examining the relationship between PFASs and pregnancy-related complications. To evaluate the quality of observational studies incorporated into the article, the Strengthening Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) tool was utilized. The main outcomes assessed in this study included gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), gestational hypertension (GH), and preeclampsia (PE). Results: Twenty-five relevant studies involving 30079 participants were finally selected from four databases. The combined estimates indicate that prenatal exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), and perfluoroenanthic acid (PFHpA) is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (PFOA: OR = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.07–1.94, P = 0.015; PFHxS: OR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.00–1.36, P = 0.055; PFBS: OR = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.16–1.79, P = 0.001; PFHpA: OR = 1.41, 95%CI: 1.10–1.82, P = 0.008). The exposure to PFBS is positively associated with HDP (OR = 1.27, 95%CI: 1.14–1.41, P < 0.001), while both PFOA and PFHpA demonstrate statistically significant positive correlations with GH (PFOA: OR = 1.09, 95%CI: 1.00–1.19, P = 0.049; PFHpA: OR = 1.43, 95%CI: 1.15–1.78, P = 0.001). Negative correlations were observed for prenatal perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) exposure and GH (OR = 0.71, 95%CI: 0.57–0.87, P = 0.001). However, no compelling evidence was identified to link PFASs exposure with the risk of PE. Conclusion: According to the meta-analysis findings, exposure to PFASs may be linked to GDM, HDP, and GH, but it does not significantly raise the risk of PE alone. Further research with larger sample size is required to verify this potential association and explore the biological mechanisms

Association Analysis between the Polymorphisms of HSD11B1 and H6PD and Risk of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Chinese Population.

To evaluate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms of HSD11B1 (rs846908) and H6PD (rs6688832 and rs17368528) are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in Chinese population.A case-control study was implemented to investigate the association between HSD11B1 and H6PD polymorphisms and PCOS. Patients with PCOS (n = 335) and controls (n = 354) were recruited in this study. Genetic variants of HSD11B1 (rs846908) and H6PD (rs6688832 and rs17368528) were analyzed by TaqMan method.We found a significantly 0.79-fold lower risk of G allele of rs6688832 in control group compared with the patients with PCOS (adjusted OR, 0.79; 95%CI = 0.63-0.99; P = 0.040). Additionally, significant difference in the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) was observed between AA and AG genotype in rs6688832. The rs6688832 AG genotype was associated with lower level of FSH (P = 0.039) and higher risk of hyperandrogenism (P = 0.016) in patients with PCOS. When all subjects were divided into different subgroups according to age and body mass index (BMI), we found that the frequency of G allele of rs6688832 was significantly higher in controls than that in PCOS patients in the subgroup of BMI > 23 (adjusted OR, 0.70; 95% CI = 0.50-0.98; P = 0.037).Our findings showed a statistical association between H6PD rs6688832 and PCOS risk in Chinese population. The G allele of rs6688832 in H6PD might exert potential genetic protective role against the development of PCOS, especially in overweight women. PCOS patients with AG genotype of rs6688832 might confer risk to the phenotype of hyperandrogenemia of PCOS

Characterization and Immunological Activity of Exopolysaccharide from Lacticaseibacillus paracasei GL1 Isolated from Tibetan Kefir Grains

Two exopolysaccharide fractions (GL1-E1 and GL1-E2) of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei GL1 were isolated with the molecular weights of 3.9 &times; 105 Da and 8.2 &times; 105 Da, respectively. Both fractions possessed mannose, glucose, and galactose in molar ratios of 1.16:1.00:0.1, and 3.81:1.00:0.12, respectively. A structural arrangement of two fractions was proposed by methylation, one-dimensional and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. The backbone of GL1-E1 consisted of &rarr;4)-&alpha;-D-Glcp(1&rarr;, &rarr;3,4)-&alpha;-D-Manp(1&rarr;, &rarr;3,6)-&alpha;-D-Manp(1&rarr;, &rarr;6)-&alpha;-D-Manp(1&rarr;, and &rarr;6)-&alpha;-D-Galp(1&rarr; with &alpha;-D-Glcp at branching point. The backbone of GL1-E2 consisted of &rarr;4)-&alpha;-D-Glcp(1&rarr;, &rarr;3,4)-&alpha;-D-Manp(1&rarr;, &rarr;3,6)-&alpha;-D-Manp(1&rarr;, &rarr;6)-&alpha;-D-Manp(1&rarr;, &rarr;6)-&alpha;-D-Galp(1&rarr;, and &rarr;4)-&beta;-D-Manp(1&rarr;, and the side chain also consisted of &alpha;-D-Manp residue. In addition, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis indicated that both GL1-E1 and GL1-E2 had good thermal stability. Furthermore, the two fractions could promote the viability of RAW264.7 cells and exert an immunomodulatory role by enhancing phagocytosis, increasing nitric oxide (NO) release and promoting the expression of cytokines