Abstract
Background:
Assisted reproductive technologies are associated with altered methylation in term placenta. However, it is unclear whether methylation patterns are the result of fertility treatments or intrauterine environment. Thus, we set out to determine whether there are differences in the first-trimester placenta that may be altered by the underlying fertility treatments. Genome-wide DNA methylation analyses from chorionic villus sampling (CVS) from matched singleton pregnancies conceived using in vitro fertilization (IVF), non-IVF fertility treatment (NIFT), or those conceived spontaneously were performed using Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip from 15 matched CVS samples. Nanofluidic quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) of differently methylated genes was performed in a confirmatory cohort of 23 IVF conceptions and 24 NIFT conceptions.
Results:
Global methylation was similar among the IVF, NIFT, and spontaneous conceptions. However, differential methylation from IVF and NIFT pregnancies was present at 34 CpG sites, which was significantly different. Of those, 14 corresponded to known genes, with methylation changes detected at multiple loci in 3 genes, anaphase-promoting complex subunit 2 (
Conclusion:
Although global methylation patterns are similar, there are differences in methylation of specific genes in IVF compared to NIFT conceptions, leading to altered gene expression.
Keywords
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