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IVF – the past, current development and its future

Edited by Antonin Bukovsky
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology

IVF is a major treatment of infertility and highly utilised treatment option of assisted reproductive technology. Advances in IVF over the past decade have made this route of achieving pregnancy very popular amongst patients and clinicians and it has also become more feasible in low- and middle-income countries in terms of availability and cost.

This collection of articles has not been sponsored and articles have undergone the journal’s standard peer-review process. The Guest Editors declare no competing interests.

Read the accompanying blog here.

View all collections in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology.

  1. Embryo implantation in a receptive endometrium is crucial for successful pregnancy. Endometrial receptivity (ER) prediction tools based on endometrial transcriptome biomarkers by endometrial biopsy have been u...

    Authors: Aihua He, Hong Wu, Yangyun Zou, Cheng Wan, Jing Zhao, Qiong Zhang, Nenghui Liu, Donge Liu, Yumei Li, Jing Fu, Hui Li, Xi Huang, Tianli Yang, Chunxu Hu, Zhaojuan Hou, Yue Sun…
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2023 21:20
  2. Low vitamin D status has been associated with an increased risk for infertility. Recent evidence regarding the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in improving reproductive outcomes is inconsistent. Therefor...

    Authors: Xiangqian Meng, Jiayao Zhang, Qi Wan, Jihua Huang, Tingting Han, Ting Qu and Lin-lin Yu
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2023 21:17
  3. Owing to its difficulty in degrading and ease of accumulation in the body, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has a detrimental effect on reproduction. This study aimed to examine the effect of PFOA concentration i...

    Authors: Haofei Shen, Min Gao, Qiuyuan Li, Huipeng Sun, Yingdi Jiang, Lihong Liu, Jingyuan Wu, Xiao Yu, Tianyu Jia, Yongan Xin, Shiqiang Han, Yiqing Wang and Xuehong Zhang
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2023 21:16
  4. To investigate the effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) pretreatment on pregnancy in patients with poor ovarian response (POR).

    Authors: Shanqin Qi, Qi Liang, Lixia Yang, Xueyuan Zhou, Kun Chen and Ji Wen
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:167
  5. Previous studies have demonstrated that the supraphysiological E2 level is negatively correlated with birthweight. However, the cut-off value of E2 level that significantly affects birthweight is unknown, and ...

    Authors: Jing Wu, Hengde Zhang and Xiaohong Wang
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:162
  6. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are considered potential biomarkers for various diseases. This study investigated whether hsa-miR-320a-3p and hsa-miR-483-5p levels in human ovarian granulosa cells derived from follicular flui...

    Authors: Yu Liu, Qiaojuan Mei, Jiahao Yang, Qiuzi Shen, Min Zou, Jiao Li, Huaibiao Li, Ling Zhang and Wenpei Xiang
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:160
  7. To compare the efficacy and safety of follitropin delta in its individualized fixed-dose regimen with follitropin alfa in a conventional adjustable dosing regimen in Chinese women. 

    Authors: Rui Yang, Yunshan Zhang, Xiaoyan Liang, Xueru Song, Zhaolian Wei, Jianqiao Liu, Yezhou Yang, Jichun Tan, Qingxue Zhang, Yingpu Sun, Wei Wang, Weiping Qian, Lei Jin, Shuyu Wang, Yang Xu, Jing Yang…
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:147
  8. Frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) is thought to be associated with obstetric and neonatal complications after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic single sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) treatment. The study ai...

    Authors: Junting Xu, Hong Zhou, Tianfan Zhou, Yi Guo, Shanshan Liang, Yanping Jia, Kunming Li and Xiaoming Teng
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:141
  9. Fertility-sparing treatment of atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) and early endometrial carcinoma (EC) patients has recently emerged important social health topic. This study is designed to explore the ris...

    Authors: Yingqiao Ding, Yuan Fan, Xingchen Li, Yiqin Wang, Jianliu Wang and Li Tian
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:134
  10. The serum TSH level of PCOS patients was higher than that of the general female population. For patients with thyroid dysfunction, the abnormal TSH level is negatively related to the outcomes of assisted repro...

    Authors: Shaoyuan Xu, Ying Zhang, Cancan Qiang and Changjun Zhang
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:133
  11. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine estimates that fewer than a quarter of infertile couples have sufficient access to infertility care. Insurers in the United States (US) have long considered infer...

    Authors: Benjamin J. Peipert, Melissa N. Montoya, Bronwyn S. Bedrick, David B. Seifer and Tarun Jain
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:111
  12. Studies have shown that abnormalities in the decidualization process were closely related to recurrent implantation failure (RIF). Prokineticin 2 (PK2) is a secreted protein with angiogenic and tissue remodeli...

    Authors: Jun Zhai, Linna Ma, Ziyin Chang and Ting Yu
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:76
  13. Advanced models including time-lapse imaging and artificial intelligence technologies have been used to predict blastocyst formation. However, the conventional morphological evaluation of embryos is still wide...

    Authors: Xiaoming Jiang, Jiali Cai, Lanlan Liu, Zhenfang Liu, Wenjie Wang, Jinhua Chen, Chao Yang, Jie Geng, Caihui Ma and Jianzhi Ren
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:68
  14. In frozen embryo transfer (FET), there is limited consensus on the best means of endometrial preparation in terms of the reproductive outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The present study ...

    Authors: Yue Wang, Wen-Hui Hu, Qi Wan, Tian Li, Yue Qian, Ming-Xing Chen, Xiao-Jun Tang, Qian Feng, Xiang-Qian Meng, Enoch Appiah Adu-Gyamfi, Yu-Bin Ding, Li-Hong Geng, Xing-Yu Lv and Zhao-Hui Zhong
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:56
  15. Both mild and conventional controlled ovarian stimulation are the frequently used protocols for poor ovarian responders. However, there are some debates about which treatment is better. Moreover, little is kno...

    Authors: Xiaoping Liu, Huisi Mai, Panyu Chen, Zhiqiang Zhang, Taibao Wu, Jianhui Chen, Peng Sun, Chuanchuan Zhou, Xiaoyan Liang and Rui Huang
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2022 20:54
  16. In vitro fertilization has been available for over 3 decades. Its use is becoming more widespread worldwide, and in the developed world, up to 5% of children have been born following IVF. It is estimated that ...

    Authors: Peter Kovacs
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:124
  17. The urge to have one’s own biological child supersedes any desire in life. Several options have been used to obtain gametes including pluripotent stem cells (embryonic ES and induced pluripotent iPS stem cells...

    Authors: Deepa Bhartiya, Indira Hinduja, Hiren Patel and Rashmi Bhilawadikar
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:114
  18. Many studies have proposed that putative ovarian stem cells (OSCs) derived from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) layer of adult mammalian ovaries can produce oocytes. Few studies have reported that ovaries...

    Authors: Bo Sun Joo, In Kook Jung, Min Jung Park, Jong Kil Joo, Ki Hyung Kim and Kyu-Sup Lee
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:113
  19. Mitochondria play vital roles in oocyte functions and they are critical indicators of oocyte quality which is important for fertilization and development into viable offspring. Quality-compromised oocytes are ...

    Authors: Heide Schatten, Qing-Yuan Sun and Randall Prather
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:111
  20. Human mature oocytes are very susceptible to cryodamage. Several reports demonstrated that vitrification might preserve oocyte better than slow freezing. However, this is still controversial. Thus, larger clin...

    Authors: Veronica Bianchi, Guido Macchiarelli, Andrea Borini, Michela Lappi, Sandra Cecconi, Selenia Miglietta, Giuseppe Familiari and Stefania A Nottola
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:110
  21. The objective of this meta-analysis is to assess the impact of LH supplementation in women undergoing in vitro fertilization/ intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) with gonadotropin releasing hormone (Gn...

    Authors: Yujing Xiong, Zhiqin Bu, Wei Dai, Meixiang Zhang, Xiao Bao and Yingpu Sun
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:109
  22. This review focuses on the possibility of improving the outcome of human IVF by studying the follicles where oocytes grow by ultrasound techniques. A comprehensive analysis of bi-dimensional (2D) and three-dim...

    Authors: Alberto Revelli, Giorgia Martiny, Luisa Delle Piane, Chiara Benedetto, Paolo Rinaudo and Ilan Tur-Kaspa
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:107
  23. Flow cytometric sorting can be used to separate sperm based on sex chromosome content. Differential fluorescence emitted by stained X- vs. Y-chromosome-bearing sperm enables sorting and collection of samples e...

    Authors: David S Karabinus, Donald P Marazzo, Harvey J Stern, Daniel A Potter, Chrispo I Opanga, Marisa L Cole, Lawrence A Johnson and Joseph D Schulman
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:106
  24. Embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) have a high level of aneuploidy, which is believed to be a major factor affecting the success of human assisted reproduction treatment. The aneuploidy rate of c...

    Authors: Judy FC Chow, William SB Yeung, Estella YL Lau, Vivian CY Lee, Ernest HY Ng and Pak-Chung Ho
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:105
  25. After spontaneous conception, the rate of miscarriage is more common in multiple rather than singleton pregnancies. However, the incidence of miscarriage is lower in in-vitro fertilization twin versus singleto...

    Authors: Erika Balassiano, Shaveta Malik, Praful Vaid, Eric S Knochenhauer and Michael L Traub
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:104
  26. Oocyte secreted factors (OSFs), including growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), play an important role in the process of follicular development and oocyte maturation...

    Authors: Yi Li, Rui-Qi Li, Song-Bang Ou, Ning-Feng Zhang, Ling Ren, Li-Na Wei, Qing-Xue Zhang and Dong-Zi Yang
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:81
  27. As demand for infertility services by older women continues to grow, because achievable in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes are widely underestimated, most fertility centers do not offer maximal treatment op...

    Authors: Norbert Gleicher, Vitaly A Kushnir, Andrea Weghofer and David H Barad
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:63
  28. In Western gender-neutral countries, the sex ratio at birth is estimated to be approximately 1.06. This ratio is lower than the estimated sex ratio at fertilization which ranges from 1.07 to 1.70 depending on ...

    Authors: Juan J Tarín, Miguel A García-Pérez, Carlos Hermenegildo and Antonio Cano
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:56
  29. The negative impact of rising progesterone levels on pregnancy rates is well known, but data on mature oocyte yield are conflicting. We examined whether delaying the oocyte maturation trigger in IVF/ICSI affec...

    Authors: Frank Vandekerckhove, Jan Gerris, Stijn Vansteelandt, An De Baerdemaeker, Kelly Tilleman and Petra De Sutter
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2014 12:31
  30. Spermatozoa are extremely vulnerable to oxidative stress caused by the unbalance between concentrations of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant scavenging systems present inside the male reproductive tract....

    Authors: Riccardo Talevi, Vincenza Barbato, Ilaria Fiorentino, Sabrina Braun, Salvatore Longobardi and Roberto Gualtieri
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2013 11:81
  31. As oral contraceptives (OCs) suppress anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), and hormonal contraceptives (HCs), likely, suppress functional ovarian reserve, this study was initiated to determine whether HC affect oocyt...

    Authors: David H Barad, Ann Kim, Hala Kubba, Andrea Weghofer and Norbert Gleicher
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2013 11:28
  32. The immune system plays an important role in the regulation of tissue homeostasis ("tissue immune physiology"). Function of distinct tissues during adulthood, including the ovary, requires (1) Renewal from ste...

    Authors: Antonin Bukovsky and Michael R Caudle
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2012 10:97
  33. Improved pregnancy, implantation, and birth rates have been reported after the use of reduced O2 concentration during embryo culture, mainly due to a reduction of the cumulative detrimental effects of reactive...

    Authors: David B Gomes Sobrinho, Joao Batista A Oliveira, Claudia G Petersen, Ana L Mauri, Liliane FI Silva, Fabiana C Massaro, Ricardo LR Baruffi, Mario Cavagna and José G Franco Jr
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2011 9:143
  34. To evaluate the combined effect of endometrial thickness and pattern on clinical outcome in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET).

    Authors: Shi-Ling Chen, Fang-Rong Wu, Chen Luo, Xin Chen, Xiao-Yun Shi, Hai-Yan Zheng and Yun-Ping Ni
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2010 8:30
  35. The aim of our retrospective study was to compare the clinical usefulness of two non-invasive embryo scoring systems based either on a simplified pronuclear morphology of the zygote or on early cleavage rate, ...

    Authors: Jana Brezinova, Ivana Oborna, Magda Svobodova and Helena Fingerova
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2009 7:9
  36. The current study was designed to compare antral follicle count (AFC) and basal ovarian volume (BOV), the exogenous FSH ovarian reserve test (EFORT) and the clomiphene citrate challenge test (CCCT), with respe...

    Authors: Janet Kwee, Mariet E Elting, Roel Schats, Joseph McDonnell and Cornelis B Lambalk
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2007 5:9
  37. Ten years ago, we reported that in adult human females the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) is a source of germ cells. Recently, we also demonstrated that new primary follicles are formed by assembly of oocyte...

    Authors: Antonin Bukovsky, Marta Svetlikova and Michael R Caudle
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2005 3:17
  38. Uterine luminal epithelial cell response to different hormonal strategies was examined to determine commonality when an endometrium attains a receptive, stimulated, morphological profile that may lead to succe...

    Authors: Susan M Adams, Vera Terry, Margot J Hosie, Nalini Gayer and Christopher R Murphy
    Citation: Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2004 2:21