Until next time! 👋🏻

@omarammar.bsky.social @mr-att.bsky.social @noemisalmeri.bsky.social @juanjo-fraire.bsky.social @dkalaitzopoulos.bsky.social @ribeirosara.bsky.social

On this, I am team pipette. It's not invasive, positioning by the embryologist and automated measure (think of the automated blood pressure band on the arm). The question is, as always, one of sensitivity and sensibility, still very much to be tested.
#ESHREjc

We have to assume that trancriptomic profile is able to quantify/reflect mechanical forces. #ESHREjc

In the fruit fly embryos, mechanical forces modulate the expression of some genes 😎 we would need to look in humans. Maybe blastoids could help?! #ESHREjc

www.cell.com/fulltext/S15... Tissue Deformation Modulates Twist Expression to Determine Anterior Midgut Differentiation in Drosophila Embryos

Impressive that this paper on characterization of the injection funnel during ICSI has 10 years....new findings can revive older evidence.#ESHREjc

Could cumulus cell transcriptomic signatures characterise the cortical state in a non-invasive manner? #ESHREjc

Altered cumulus cell metabolism or inflammatory signalling could impact cortical actin regulators indirectly, for example via:
⚡️redox imbalance
⚡️altered lipid composition
⚡️disrupted molecule exchange
#ESHREjc

At the moment, data available finds a difference in biomechanical parameters that can lead to embryo viability and live birth. But the cause of this abnormal parameters will be difficult to adress #ESHREjc

Because the cortex mediates oocyte–cumulus communication, metabolic or endocrine stress in the follicle could rewire cortical signalling long before maturation and without obvious morphological changes. #ESHREjc

2/2
Major barriers to clinical 🧑🏻‍⚕️ translation remain throughput, operator dependency, lack of standardization, and crucially proving added predictive value beyond existing morphological and morphokinetic markers.
🚨🚨🚨
#ESHREjc

Building on Coticchio et al., cortical mechanics as biomarkers is not entirely speculative. For example, Yanez et al. (PNAS, 2016) showed that oocyte stiffness measured by AFM correlates with meiotic competence and spindle integrity.
#ESHREjc

How do we differentiate healthy stiffness from pathological rigidity due to aging or metabolic stress? #ESHREjc

Techniques like micropipette aspiration or emerging optical microscopy approaches are promising, but translating them to IVF will require meeting the ‘holy grail’ of:

✅ Efficacy
✅ Safety
✅ Cost
✅ Speed of testing

#ESHREjc

Cortical stiffness and viscoelasticity likely reflect the underlying actomyosin network organisation, making them interesting markers of oocyte quality that can be more informative than static morphology alone #ESHREjc