ArticleMolecular human reproduction2024
Sperm-carried IGF2: towards the discovery of a spark contributing to embryo growth and development.
Article in Molecular human reproduction, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- An expanded paternal legacy: epididymal mRNAs are transmitted to the embryo.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Article
- Epididymal extracellular vesicles harbor and convey mRNA to sperm for transfer to zygotes.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Insulin-like growth factor 2 as a central regulator of growth and metabolic efficiency in livestock: Genetic, nutritional, and biotechnological perspectives.Veterinary world · 2026Review
- Time-Lapse Imaging in IVF: Bridging the Gap Between Promises and Clinical Realities.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Impact of male factors on morphokinetic parameters: a prospective analysis using time-lapse monitored embryos.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2025Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Spermatozoa have been shown to carry key RNAs which, according to animal evidence, seem to play a role in early embryo development. In this context, a potential key growth regulator is insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), a highly conserved paternally expressed imprinted gene involved in cell growth and proliferation which, recent observations indicate, is expressed in human spermatozoa. We herein hypothesized that sperm IGF2 gene expression and transmission at fertilization is required to support early embryo development. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed sperm IGF2 mRNA levels in the same semen aliquot used for homologous assisted reproductive technique (ART) in infertile couples and correlated these levels with embryo morphokinetics. To find a mechanistic explanation for the observed results, the transcriptomes of blastocysts obtained after injection of Igf2 mRNA in mouse parthenotes were analyzed. Sperm IGF2 mRNA negatively correlated with time of 2-cell stage (t2), t3, t4, t5, and time of expanded blastocyst (tEB), independently of maternal age, body mass index, anti-Müllerian hormone levels, and oocyte quality. An IGF2 mRNA index >4.9 predicted the ability of the embryos to reach the blastocyst stage on Day 5, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 71.6% (AUC 0.845; P < 0.001). In the animal study, transcriptome analysis demonstrated that 65 and 36 genes were, respectively, up- and down-regulated in the experimental group compared to the control group. These genes belong to pathways that regulate early embryo development, thus supporting the findings found in humans. This study has the potential to challenge the longstanding tenet that spermatozoa are simply vehicles carrying paternal DNA. Instead, it suggests that IGF2 mRNA in healthy spermatozoa provides critical support for early embryo development. Pre-ART sperm-carried IGF2 mRNA levels may be used as a marker to predict the chances of obtaining blastocysts to be transferred for infertile couples undergoing ART.
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Registered trials
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