Soumya Ranjan Jena1
Gayatri Mohanty2
Kavindra Kumar Kesari3,4
Damayanthi Durairajanayagam5
Luna Samanta1*- 1Redox Biology and Proteomics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India
- 2Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States
- 3Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
- 4Research and Development Cell, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India
- 5Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia
Editorial on the Research Topic
Omics for infertility and contraception: two sides of same coin
The Research Topic entitles “Omics for infertility and contraception: two sides of same coin” is focused on the intertwined issues of contraception and infertility. Contraception is essential for population stability, while infertility poses emotional and psychological challenges for the working-age population. There is a significant global need for family planning (57% of women), but millions lack access (United Nations et al., 2019). Conversely, about 15% of couples face infertility (Eshre, 2017). Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) offer hope but have limitations due to our limited understanding of reproductive physiology. Addressing these challenges requires prioritizing non-hormonal contraceptives (non-HPG) for both genders to avoid side effects, such as cancer risks associated with hormonal contraceptives (Hemmerling et al., 2020). It is also crucial to identify specific molecules responsible for reproductive functions. These interconnected issues benefit from advancements in each other. Additionally, OMICS technologies and bioinformatics enable comprehensive study of cellular processes from DNA to metabolites, offering strategies for non-HPG contraceptives (Johnston and Goldberg, 2020). Targeting structural proteins and interactions shows promise but requires inhibitor development. Although progress has been made in identifying biomarkers for infertility (Mohanty et al., 2020; Jena et al., 2021; Mohanty et al., 2021; Nayak et al., 2023), druggable targets remain elusive. This special volume covers recent OMICS-based advancements in understanding reproduction at molecular level not only in human but also in farm animals including the application of artificial intelligence in infertility diagnostics.
Karanwal et al. studied the significance of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in India’s dairy sector and the economic losses from failed pregnancies after artificial insemination (AI), often due to low-quality bull semen. They used LC-MS/MS to analyze high fertile (HF) and low fertile (LF) buffalo sperm proteins. They found 1,385 proteins, with 1,002 shared and 288 unique to HF, and 95 to LF. HF had 211 significantly more abundant proteins, linked to vital sperm functions. In contrast, LF had 342 less abundant proteins associated with processes like glycolysis and inflammation. Fertility-related proteins (e.g., AKAP3, Sp17, and DLD) were validated, offering potential markers for buffalo fertility prediction, aiding the farming sector’s economic stability.
Ovastacin (ASTL) is a crucial protein released during fertilization, preventing polyspermy and aiding embryo protection. Deleterious SNPs in ASTL can lead to female infertility by disrupting its interactions with ZP2 and FETUB (Xiong et al., 2017). In this study, 4,748 SNPs were analyzed by Suri et al., with 40 ns SNPs identified in ASTL’s catalytic domain. MutPred2 indicated changes in catalytic activity/zinc binding. Docking studies revealed important hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions between ASTL, ZP2, and FETUB. Notably, a cluster of SNPs occurred in the conserved motif 198DRD200. Statistical Coupling Analysis (SCA) confirmed the significance of these SNPs in functionally critical positions of ASTL. These findings highlight regions in ASTL susceptible to mutations that could cause female infertility.
This study reported by Oluwayiose et al. demonstrated the role of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in the seminal plasma extracellular vesicle (spEV) in male infertility cases with and without successful live births after assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. They analyzed small RNA profiles from 91 semen samples, categorizing couples into live birth (28) and no live birth (63) groups. They found 12 differentially expressed spEV ncRNAs, including 10 circRNAs and two piRNAs. Most circRNAs were downregulated in the no live birth group, linked to reproductive and developmental processes. The upregulated piRNAs overlapped with genes related to mitochondrion morphogenesis, signal transduction, and cellular proliferation. These findings highlight the male partner’s role in ART success.
The opinion article by Sengupta et al. highlights the advancement in application of artificial intelligence and deep learning in basic semen analysis, the gold standard prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO) for male infertility evaluation. Mojo-AISA (Automated In situ Semen Aanlysis), is the first microscope integrated with an artificial intelligence algorithm. This article analyses the potential of Mojo-AISA to enhance accuracy and efficiency in diagnosing male infertility. Mojo AISA uses neural networks to determine sperm concentration and motility accurately. It was evaluated against manual microscopy methods using 64 semen samples and showed the ability to provide precise results in half the time. However, challenges include assessing samples with very low concentration and the need for correct slide preparation. Despite limitations, Mojo AISA may improve semen analysis accuracy, reduce inter-laboratory variability, and boost productivity in embryology labs, benefiting reproductive medicine.
These approaches enable personalized medicine, biomarker discovery, and safer, more effective contraception methods while linking infertility and contraception advancements.
Author contributions
SJ: Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. GM: Writing–review and editing. KK: Writing–review and editing. DD: Writing–review and editing. LS: Writing–review and editing.
Acknowledgments
We thank authors of the papers published in this Research Topic for their valuable contributions and the referees for their rigorous review. We also thank the editorial board of Cell and Developmental biology (Section: Molecular and Cellular Reproduction) and the Francesco Coneri Commissioning Team Manager, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, for their support.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The authors declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.
Publisher’s note
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References
Eshre, A. (2017). Policy audit on fertility analysis of 9 EU countries. Available at: https://www.eshre.eu/∼/media/sitecorefiles/Publications/PolicyAuditonFertilityAnalysis9EUCountriesFINAL16032017.pdf?la=en (accessed on November 2, 2022).
Hemmerling, A., Christopher, E., and Young Holt, B. (2020). Towards a roadmap to advance non-hormonal contraceptive multipurpose prevention technologies: strategic insights from key stakeholders. Biol. Reproduction 103 (2), 289–298. doi:10.1093/biolre/ioaa092
Jena, S. R., Nayak, J., Kumar, S., Kar, S., Dixit, A., and Samanta, L. (2021). Paternal contributors in recurrent pregnancy loss: cues from comparative proteome profiling of seminal extracellular vesicles. Mol. Reproduction Dev. 88 (1), 96–112. doi:10.1002/mrd.23445
Johnston, D. S., and Goldberg, E. (2020). Preclinical contraceptive development for men and women. Biol. reproduction 103 (2), 147–156. doi:10.1093/biolre/ioaa076
Mohanty, G., Jena, S. R., Kar, S., and Samanta, L. (2021). Paternal factors in recurrent pregnancy loss: an insight through analysis of non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism in human testis-specific chaperone HSPA2 gene. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 29, 62219–62234. doi:10.1007/s11356-021-17799-3
Mohanty, G., Jena, S. R., Nayak, J., Kar, S., and Samanta, L. (2020). Proteomic signatures in spermatozoa reveal the role of paternal factors in recurrent pregnancy loss. World J. Men's Health 38 (1), 103–114. doi:10.5534/wjmh.190034
Nayak, J., Jena, S. R., Kumar, S., Kar, S., Dixit, A., and Samanta, L. (2023). Human sperm proteome reveals the effect of environmental borne seminal polyaromatic hydrocarbons exposome in etiology of idiopathic male factor infertility. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 11, 1117155. doi:10.3389/fcell.2023.1117155
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). Family planning and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. New York: United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/family/familyPlanning_DataBooklet_2019.pdf2.
Keywords: male infertility, sperm chromatin, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics
Citation: Jena SR, Mohanty G, Kesari KK, Durairajanayagam D and Samanta L (2023) Editorial: Omics for infertility and contraception: two sides of same coin. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 11:1293677. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1293677
Received: 13 September 2023; Accepted: 18 September 2023;
Published: 26 September 2023.
Edited and reviewed by:
Shao-Chen Sun, Nanjing Agricultural University, ChinaCopyright © 2023 Jena, Mohanty, Kesari, Durairajanayagam and Samanta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Luna Samanta, lsamanta@ravenshawuniversity.ac.in