Circulating nucleic acids and in vitro fertilization

During the last years, the use of circulating nucleic acids (microRNAs and cell-free DNA) as diagnostic and/or prognostic tools in cancerology was widely documented. Likewise, in obstetrics and gynecology, the development of non-invasive prenatal testing based on the assessment of these biomarkers confirmed their growing interest in this speciality. In human reproduction, several studies were interested in the microRNAs, small non-coding RNA sequences, present in the ovarian follicle and their implication in folliculogenesis. Some of these microRNAs, as well as the vesicles which transport them, are easily detectable in the bloodstream and could be used as reliable biomarkers of interest in infertility care. Cell-free DNA level varies according to physiopathology and reflect the proportion of apoptotic and/or necrotic events occurring in the body. As a result, its quantification could give an additional help to the practitioners for ovarian functional status evaluation. Furthermore, these circulating nucleic acids could also constitute new predictive biomarkers of oocyte and/or embryo quality and represent a promising perspective for the prevention of in vitro fertilization implantation failures. In conclusion, these circulating nucleic acids open the way to the development of new diagnostic and/or prognostic innovative tests in order to improve in vitro fertilization outcomes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.