Children born after assisted reproduction more commonly carry a mitochondrial genotype associating with low birthweight

Joke Mertens, Florence Belva, Aafke P. A. van Montfoort, Marius Regin, Filippo Zambelli, Sara Seneca, Edouard Couvreu de Deckersberg, Maryse Bonduelle, Herman Tournaye, Katrien Stouffs, Kurt Barbé, Hubert J. M. Smeets, Hilde Van de Velde, Karen Sermon, Christophe Blockeel and Claudia Spits ()
Additional contact information
Joke Mertens: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Florence Belva: Center for Medical Genetics, UZ Brussel
Aafke P. A. van Montfoort: Maastricht University Medical Center
Marius Regin: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Filippo Zambelli: Eugin Group
Sara Seneca: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Edouard Couvreu de Deckersberg: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Maryse Bonduelle: Center for Medical Genetics, UZ Brussel
Herman Tournaye: Brussels IVF, Center for Reproductive Medicine, UZ Brussel
Katrien Stouffs: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Kurt Barbé: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Hubert J. M. Smeets: Maastricht University
Hilde Van de Velde: Brussels IVF, Center for Reproductive Medicine, UZ Brussel
Karen Sermon: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Christophe Blockeel: Brussels IVF, Center for Reproductive Medicine, UZ Brussel
Claudia Spits: Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Children conceived through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have an elevated risk of lower birthweight, yet the underlying cause remains unclear. Our study explores mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants as contributors to birthweight differences by impacting mitochondrial function during prenatal development. We deep-sequenced the mtDNA of 451 ART and spontaneously conceived (SC) individuals, 157 mother-child pairs and 113 individual oocytes from either natural menstrual cycles or after ovarian stimulation (OS) and find that ART individuals carried a different mtDNA genotype than SC individuals, with more de novo non-synonymous variants. These variants, along with rRNA variants, correlate with lower birthweight percentiles, independent of conception mode. Their higher occurrence in ART individuals stems from de novo mutagenesis associated with maternal aging and OS-induced oocyte cohort size. Future research will establish the long-term health consequences of these changes and how these findings will impact the clinical practice and patient counselling in the future.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45446-1

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