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Review
. 2017 Dec;34(12):1581-1585.
doi: 10.1007/s10815-017-1072-6. Epub 2017 Oct 28.

Is mitochondrial DNA quantitation in blastocyst trophectoderm cells predictive of developmental competence and outcome in clinical IVF?

Manuel Viotti  1 , Andrea R Victor  2 , Christo G Zouves  2 , Frank L Barnes  2
Affiliations
Review

Is mitochondrial DNA quantitation in blastocyst trophectoderm cells predictive of developmental competence and outcome in clinical IVF?

Manuel Viotti et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Behind every successful IVF embryo transfer, there is a great game of chance. Methods seeking to tilt the balance and increase the likelihood of implantation have been proposed and implemented with varying results, including embryo morphology, FISH-PGS, comprehensive chromosomal screening (CCS), morphokinetics, endometrial receptivity testing. It has been suggested that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number could serve as a biomarker for embryo viability, but this concept was recently challenged. The world of IVF is left with unanswered questions: Why are there discrepancies in the reports? Should mtDNA copy number be considered to rank embryos for transfer? And in a broader sense, how well must a technique be validated before its implementation in the IVF clinic? Here, we explore these questions attempting to piece together the published data and suggest future directions to help unravel the subject matter.

Keywords: IVF embryo selection; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial DNA; mtDNA.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overview of the method establishing the predictive power of mtDNA levels in implantation of blastocysts during IVF
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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