Effect of assisted reproductive technology on the molecular karyotype of missed abortion tissues

Abstract

Missed abortion is one of the common complications of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Genetic abnormality is the most important factor. However, the effect of ART on the molecular karyotype of products of conception (POC) remains unknown. We explored the effect of ART on the molecular karyotype of POC in miscarriage. POC were obtained from women undergoing ART. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray was used to analyze the molecular karyotype. A total of 1493 POC were collected for SNP array analysis. The total rate of karyotypic abnormalities was 63.1% (943/1493). The proportion of karyotypic abnormalities was 70.4% (193/416) in >35-year-old group, which was significantly higher than that (60.6%) (343/566) in <30-year-old group and that (60%) (307/511) in the 30–35-year-old group. In natural conception (NC) group, the proportion of karyotypic abnormalities was 64.6% (201/311), whereas in ART group it was 62.7% (742/1182) and, there was no significant difference. The ratio between male and female fetuses was 1:1.13 (698/795). The rate of karyotypic abnormalities in male was 62.9% (439/698) and that in female was 63.4% (504/795), and these values did not differ significantly (P=0.84). Molecular karyotypic abnormality is the most important reason in miscarriage, and female age is a significant factor influencing the karyotypic abnormalities. Comparison with NC, ART, and gender of aborted embryos may not increase the rate of molecular karyotypic abnormality in miscarriage.