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Transcriptomic changes in cervical cells during the menstrual cycle are evident but insufficient to predict window of implantation

ABSTRACT: Current endometrial receptivity tests require an invasive method of collecting of endometrial biopsies that can cause general discomfort and adverse events such as infections, pain, and bleeding. Therefore, minimally-invasive methodologies for receptivity evaluation are needed. Cervical cells could offer a great potential for endometrial receptivity testing because cervical cell collection by cytobrush is a standardized, quick, simple, well tolerated, minimally invasive and routinely used sampling technique in everyday gynaecological practice. To date, no studies have evaluated the suitability of cervical cells for endometrial receptivity testing based on transcriptional profiling throughout the menstrual cycle. In this study, paired samples of the endometrium and cervical cells were obtained from 20 women in different menstrual cycle time-points in natural cycles and women undergoing hormonal replacement cycles. The gene expression profiles of cervical cells showed no apparent clustering according to their collection time and menstrual cycle phase. Transcriptome analysis identified only four (KIF2C, CENPF, HLA-DRB5 and CUTALP) differentially expressed genes between the early- and mid-secretory samples, suggesting that the transcriptomes of cervical cells, in contrast to endometrial tissue, do not exhibit significant differences during the window of implantation opening. The largest differences in the transcriptome of cervical cells were noticed in late-secretory phase, before initiation of menstruation. The results of our study suggested that cervical cells’ transcriptome does not reflect the gene expression pattern of endometrial tissue during the WOI and these cells offer little or no potential for endometrial receptivity diagnostics.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE221127 | GEO | 2023/07/09

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: a fundamental challenge for reproductive biology is to understand the menstrual cycle, specially the window of implantation, whose regulation and mechanistic remain incompletely understood in human reproductive physiology. Transcriptomics from a systems biology perspective provides a genomic framework to discover endometrial tissue specific regulation and behavior and its function in reproductive physiology. Results: Here, we applied a transcriptomic analysis of 238 endometrial receptivity related genes using a customized Agilent platform. 507 human endometrial biopsies were analyzed among the menstrual cycle, especially in the expected window of implantation and divided in to transcriptomic profiles using machine learning predictors (SVM and KNN models). The clinical relevance of these profiles was tested defining the best transcriptomic profile for pregnancy and live birth. Weighed Gene Co-expression Networks (WGCN) was applied is these clinically well-defined endometrial states to characterize the gene co-expression tissue specific regulation in humans for pregnancy in comparison with the other transcriptomic stages of menstrual cycle. For the first time, the menstrual cycle has been mapped as a percentage of positive and negative correlations between genes. Thanks to this approach, we have discovered the WOI as the fewest negatively correlated state with the highest proportion of positive correlations (Cochran´s Q = 14324.12, FDR < 2.2e-16) with an average of 84% of positive correlations in pregnant profile, while 53% in the two previous Proliferative (PF) and Early Pre-Receptive profiles and 67% in the late secretory endometrium, just before menstruation renewal. Finally, this study provides a wealth of network data to the scientific community to stimulate hypothesis-driven single-molecule endometrial studies in the form of a user-friendly database called the Menstrual Cycle Gene Co-expression Network (website: www.menstrualcyclegcn.com). Conclusions: this genomic research reveals for first time the pregnant endometrium as a global derepressed state in human menstrual cycle. This indicates the endometrium is generally a repressive tissue in human menstrual cycle with a relaxed WOI period where gene expression reaches the highest proportion of positive correlation, indicating that a decrease of inhibition may allow embryo implantation. Detailed molecular information about co-expression among menstrual cycle is also provided.

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Transcriptomic changes in cervical cells during the menstrual cycle are evident but insufficient to predict window of implantation

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