Molecular Approach in Understanding of Gametes and Embryos
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 6737
Special Issue Editors
Interests: assisted reproduction; sperm; oocyte; embryo; ovary; testis; stem cells in reproduction; cryopreservation; blastocyst
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: infertility; in vitro fertilization; assisted reproduction; oocyte; embryo; blastocyst; ovarian stimulation, endometriosis, fertility preservation, pregnancy, obesity
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Gametes are highly specialized cells which undergo morphological and numerous complex molecular changes during development and differentiation. Changes in gametes on a molecular level can originate from the genetic code of these cells, but signals inducing development and behaviour of gametes can also be of extrinsic origin. For instance, gametes develop in close contact with somatic cells in various ways. Additionally, when gametes are used in IVF, extrinsic factors influencing their molecular state are culture media, handling approaches, and culture conditions. Recently, this aspect has received more attention, but there are still many gaps in understanding these conditions, and their importance is often overlooked in clinical practice. While gametes are special from a molecular aspect, the changes that these cells undergo after fertilization are even more profound. Two haploid cells merge and their genetic material has to find a way to start acting as one, which leads to dramatic and miraculous changes in the development of both embryos and organisms. The genetic status of embryos is often checked in IVF to select the most optimal embryo for transfer into uterus, but despite impressive development of such approach, it still faces many hurdles and is still a topic of controversy. While there is a focus on the genetics of embryos in IVF clinical practice, basic research on other levels, such as epigenetics, proteomics, metabolomics, secretomes, etc., has gained a mass of important data, helping to understand gametes and embryos on a molecular level. Thus, in the future, more attention should be paid to these approaches. On the one hand, this should be accomplished to improve our understanding of molecular state of gametes and embryos and, on the other hand, to improve clinical practice in IVF. While this Special Issue will be mainly focused on human reproduction, original papers and reviews of animal models are highly welcomed for submission.
Dr. Martin Stimpfel
Prof. Dr. Eda Vrtacnik-Bokal
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- in vitro fertilization
- preimplantation genetic testing
- aneuploidy
- embryo
- oocyte
- sperm
- meiosis
- reproduction
