(8/8) We wish to thank the Center of Reproductive Medicine at @liu.se for this amazing collaboration, as well as @vetenskapsradet.bsky.social , @kawresearch.bsky.social , ALF from Region Östergötland and Ragnar Södebergs stiftelse for funding, helping us make this research question a reality!

(7/8) Why is this interesting? Today, 30% of couples with involuntarily childlessness get the diagnosis “unexplained infertility”. Our results contribute to a future with more specific diagnoses and treatments, and evidence that sRNA influence not only the sperm, but also human embryo development!

(6/8) Lastly, our data suggests that some tRNA fragments may be related to pregnancy outcome and gestational weight, and we are excited to see whether this holds true in future studies, with an increased number of samples!

(5/8) Next, we explored sperm sRNA in relation to embryo quality. We see that there were more of certain miRNA in sperm giving rise to high-quality embryos. These miRNA are predicted to interact with developmental programs, suggesting that sperm miRNA may regulate embryo development!

(4/8) We also investigated how sperm-borne small RNA were relevant for the next step of IVF: fertilisation. Here, we see that sperm samples leading to a high number of eggs being fertilised contained less sRNA from a certain genetic locus.

(3/8) Firstly, sperm quality is often examined by counting the number of sperm and checking their motility. We found that sRNA originating from the mitochondria was seen in higher amounts within high-quality sperm, whereas low-quality sperm samples instead had increased levels of Y-RNA fragments.

(2/8) So, what are small RNA and why are they important? These short molecules are known to regulate cellular mechanisms, including sperm function. They may also be involved in the sperm's ability to fertilise eggs and influence embryo development. Here, we investigate this in a clinical setting 👩‍⚕️