E Movahed - Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
M Salehi - Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Be-heshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Background: Embryo vitrification is an important approach in assisted reproductive techniques (ART), which has improved clinical outcomes. miRNAs are a class of short single-stranded noncoding endogenous RNAs in eukaryotic cells that regulate epigenetic expressions of numerous genes at the posttranscrip-tional or translational levels. The present study assesses the effects of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and vitrification on miR-29a/29b expressions after IVF and vitrification.Materials and Methods: Expression of miR-29a/29b in mouse blastocysts from control, IVF and vitrification groups was in-vestigated by qRT-PCR.Results: The levels of miR-29a/29b upregulated in the experi-mental groups as compared with the control group. Conclusion: The results of this study have suggested that vit-rification at 2-cell stage causes disruption in epigenetic mecha-nisms in blastocysts.

IVF, miR-29a/29b, Blastocyst