During gametogenesis, the female and male germ cells undergo a process whereby imprinting marks are erased from the genome. During the later stages of germ-cell development, the methylation marks of the female and male germ lines are re-established. A second phase of demethylation of the genome occurs at the time of fertilization, and during development of the early embryo. Assisted reproductiv...

Background: HLA-G, as a tolerogenic molecule, expressed in cytotrophoblast cells and playing an important role in the suppression of the immune response in maternal decidua. Today Interaction of the extracellular domains of HLA-G protein with cell receptors of immune system, including CD8, LILRB1, LILRB2 and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor KIR2DL4, was well known. Materials and Methods...

Information on the outcomes of ART treatments in Ireland is not readily available to Irish practitioners. The data for hospital affiliated clinics has been made available for many years and is included in the hospital reports. We present a 10-year analysis of the Irish ART results voluntarily reported by six out of seven IVF clinics. The data was collected from published ESHRE reports and from ...

Reproductive medicine is a field of science which searches for new alternatives not only to help couples achieve pregnancy and preserve fertility, but also to diagnose and treat diseases which can impair the normal operation of the reproductive tract. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a set of methodologies applied to cases related to infertility. Despite being highly practiced worldwid...

In the past 25 years, the frequency of assisted reproductive technology (ART) births has increased rapidly to account for 1-2% of all births in many developed countries. ART procedures such as in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection are generally considered to be safe, but recent studies suggest a small excess of birth defects and low-birth weight in ART children. In additio...

Background The effect of smoking cigarettes is followed by diverse effects on ovaries and developing follicles but the effect of passive smoking on ovarian function is unknown. On the other hand, the ovarian response to induction is a very important step in assisted reproduction. The aim of this study is to compare ovarian response in passive smokers and non-passive smokers in an assisted repro...