MITOCHONDRIAL DNA CONTENT IS NOT A USEFUL METHOD TO PREDICT THE REPRODUCTIVE OUTCOME OF EUPLOID BLASTOCYSTS

Abstract

To evaluate if the assessment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content is a useful tool to predict implantation and pregnancy performance in frozen euploid blastocysts transfer cycles. Retrospective comparative study. One hundred and eighty-two elective single frozen blastocyst transfers after preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) and mtDNA content assessment via next generation sequencing (NGS) were performed between May 2016 and October 2019. Euploid blastocysts for transfer were selected based on standard morphological criteria and independently of the mtDNA content result. Blastocysts transferred were grouped according to the value of a mtDNA content score (MS) as following: group A (MS < 18.19, N = 30), group B (MS = 18.19 to 24.15, N = 55) and group C (MS = 24.15 to 50.58, N = 94). Three of the studied blastocysts had MS > 50.58 and were excluded from the study. Study groups were comparable regarding patients' age, indication for PGT-A and proportion of good quality blastocysts. Student's t and Chi-squared tests were used as appropriate. No differences were observed between groups regarding implantation, clinical and ongoing pregnancies and miscarriage rates (table 1).Table 1Outcomes results between groupsStudy groupsABCImplantation43.3 (13/30)45.4 (25/55)37.2 (35/94)Clinical Pregnancies43.3 (13/30)43.6 (24/55)35.1 (33/94)Miscarriages15.3 (2/13)12.5 (3/24)18.2 (6/33)Ongoing pregnancies36.7 (11/30)38.2 (21/55)28.7 (27/94) Open table in a new tab Our study did not find any differences in mtDNA content with regards to embryo implantation or pregnancy outcomes. A bigger sample size would be crucial to confirm these preliminary results.