Evidence mapPaperPMID 41260378Full record

ArticleJournal of advanced research2026

Embryo vitrification disturbs the pre-implantation DNA demethylation process and affects hepatic functions to threaten long-term metabolic health in mice.

Yue Ying, Yang Yang, Xilin Shen, Yuli Qian, Jianpeng Chen, Yanyun Ying, Hao Jin, Yazeed Allan, Yifeng Lin, Feixia Wang and 9 more

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Article in Journal of advanced research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Yue YingInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Yang YangChina National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China; Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Xilin ShenInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China; Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA.
Yuli QianInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Jianpeng ChenInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Yanyun YingInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Hao JinInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Yazeed AllanDepartment of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA.
Yifeng LinCenter for Reproductive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China.
Feixia WangInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Juan LiuInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Junyan ZhengInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Jiani JinInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Yifeng LiuInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China; Zhejiang Provincial Birth Defect Control and Prevention Research Center, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Qingyuan SunGuangzhou Key Laboratory of Metabolic Diseases and Reproductive Health, Guangdong-Hong Kong Metabolism & Reproduction Joint Laboratory, Reproductive Medicine Center, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou 510317, China.
Hongqing LiangInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China; Division of Human Reproduction and Developmental Genetics, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education), Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China.
Weimin CiDepartment of Urology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100039, China. Electronic address: ciweimin@301hospital.com.cn.
Dan ZhangInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China; Zhejiang Provincial Birth Defect Control and Prevention Research Center, Hangzhou 310006, China. Electronic address: zhangdan@zju.edu.cn.
Chuan ChenInstitute of Medical Genetics and Development, Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics (Ministry of Education) and Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China. Electronic address: chenchuan93@zju.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionEmbryo vitrification has been linked to an increased incidence of large-for-gestational-age offspring. Investigating how epigenetic regulation transmits vitrification-induced abnormalities to postnatal stages could provide valuable insights for the control and prevention of metabolic disorders in offspring derived from vitrified-thawed embryos, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.

objectivesThis study aimed to investigate vitrification-induced aberrations in gene expression and DNA methylation remodeling during pre-implantation stages, and to explore how these abnormalities affect the postnatal metabolic health of the offspring.

methods8-cell mouse embryos were vitrified and thawed, and transcriptome profiling was conducted using SMART-seq2 with 16-cell embryos, morulae and blastocysts. DNA methylome profiling of blastocysts using low-input bisulfite sequencing (LI-BS) was then performed. After embryo transfer, glucose tolerance tests (GTT) and insulin tolerance tests (ITT) were conducted on the offspring, and blood metabolite levels were measured by ELISA. Histological analyses, RNA-seq, and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) were then performed on hepatic tissues of the offspring.

resultsHere, we found delayed progression of vitrified-thawed embryos, with downregulated expression of Tet2. Consistently, we observed genome-wide DNA hypermethylation, with the hypermethylated genes being enriched in metabolic processes. Our data further demonstrated that offsprings from vitrified-thawed embryos exhibited metabolic disturbances including insulin resistance, lipid deposition and mitochondrial dysfunction. Interestingly, genes associated with arachidonic acid metabolism remained dysregulated in the hepatic tissues of these offspring, although DNA methylation had been restored to the normal level in these terminally differentiated tissues.

conclusionsOverall, our study uncovers the negative impact of vitrification on DNA methylation remodeling during early embryo development, which may partially account for the elevated susceptibility to metabolic diseases in offspring. Our findings also suggest that the Tet2 gene is a potential therapeutic target for improving the developmental competence of vitrified-thawed embryos.

Indexed as

BlastocystDNA DemethylationDNA MethylationEmbryo, MammalianLiverVitrificationAnimalsCryopreservationDevelopmental Origins of Health and DiseaseDioxygenasesDNA-Binding ProteinsEmbryonic DevelopmentEmbryo TransferEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalDioxygenasesDNA-Binding ProteinsProto-Oncogene ProteinsTet2 protein, mouseDNA methylationEmbryo vitrificationLipid metabolism-associated genesMetabolic disturbancesTet2

Identifiers

PMID41260378
PMCPMC13453966

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.