Objective In this study, we evaluated the effects of promoter methylation of MTHFR on oligozoospermia risk, followed by an in silico analysis. Materials and Methods In a case-control study, semen samples were collected from infertile and healthy control men. MTHFR promoter region was amplified by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, the promoter region of MTHFR was analyzed by bioinformatics software. Results Our data revealed significant associations of CpG island promoter methylation with oligozoospermia in a case-control study. In silico analysis showed that promoter contains a strong nucleosome exclusion region, a bonafide CGIs, six PROSITE motifs without a defined TATA box and 14 transcription factor (TF) binding sites, which are directly involved in spermatogenesis. Conclusion Based on our findings, methylation of the MTHFR gene promoter region may be a risk factor for oligozoospermia. However, this is a preliminary report representing data for future comprehensive studies to make a clinical conclusion on the potential biomarker role of methylation of this promoter in elevating susceptibility to oligozoospermia. Objective Leishmaniasis is caused by members of the Leishmania species and constitute a group of infective diseases that range from cutaneous lesions to lethal visceral forms. In infected persons, macrophages recognize and eliminate the parasites via phagocytosis. In order to change a hostile environment into an environment adequate for survival and reproduction, the engulfed Leishmania species needs to modulate the function of its host macrophage. The expression patterns of cytokine genes such as interleukin-12 (IL-12), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), IL-1, and interferon-gamma (IFNγ) represent the immune response. In this study, we employed an RNA-seq approach for human monocyte-derived macrophages infected with Leishmania major (L. major) to decipher cytokine gene expression alterations in host macrophages. Materials and Methods In this descriptive study, human monocytes were isolated by magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) and cultured in the presence of monocyte colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) to obtain the macrophages. Monocyte-derived macrophages were then co-cultured with metacyclic promastigotes of L. major for 4 hours. RNA isolation was performed using TRIzol reagent. RNA sequencing was performed using the Illumina sequencing platforms. Gene expression analysis was performed using a Bioconductor DESeq2 package. Results Our data revealed significant changes in immune response gene expressions in macrophages infected with L. major, with an up-regulation of cytokines and mostly down-regulation of their receptors. Conclusion The obtained data could shed more light on the biology of L. major and how the host cell responds to leishmaniasis. Objective In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the most efficient approaches within the context of assisted reproductive technology (ART) to treat infertility. High pregnancy rates have become the major index of successful IVF in clinical studies. It is not clear yet which factors are certainly responsible for IVF success, as various outcomes were obtained in different IVF centers with different settings. In this study, we aimed to address controversies in the interpretation of promising results of IVF with respect to preimplantation genetic screening (PGS). Materials and Methods In this retrospective case series study, we built a dataset containing data from 213 IVF patient candidates for PGS (654 embryos) with blastomere biopsy at day 3 and trophectoderm biopsy in day 5, referred to Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran from 2015 to 2018. Next, the data were analyzed to find influential factors affecting success rate of ART cycles. Results Data analyses showed that regardless of PGS indications (ART failures, recurrent miscarriage, chromosomal abnormalities, etc.), the pregnancy rate is influenced by maternal and embryonic factors such as the age of mother as well as quantity and quality of transferred embryos. Furthermore, genotyping of embryos using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) depicted the highest rate of chromosomal aberrations for chromosomes 1, 16 and 19 while the lowest frequency for chromosomes 11 and 17. Similarly, we detected 463 genetically abnormal embryos by aCGH, among which only 41.9% could be detected by classical fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) method. Conclusion This study not only highlighted the advantages of aCGH over the FISH method in detection of chromosomal abnormalities, but also emphasized the importance of genetic abnormality as an indication for determination of IVF success rate. Objective Endometrial receptivity plays a key role in pregnancy success in assisted reproduction cycles. Recent evidence suggests that seminal plasma (SP) and follicular fluid (FF) influence the uterine endometrium to improve implantation of the embryo and the establishment of pregnancy. selleck compound In this study, we attempt to assess the influence of FF and SP on the expression levels of main endometrial receptivity genes (HOXA10, HOXA11, ITGAV, ITGB3 and LIF) in endometrial stromal cells. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, SP and FF were collected from 15 healthy fertile men and 15 healthy fertile women, respectively. Tissue specimens of the endometrium were obtained from 12 women undergoing hysterectomy for benign conditions. After endometrial stromal cell isolation and culture, dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic effects of pooled FF and SP on 3D-cultured endometrial cells were evaluated. A second independent set of 12 endometrium samples was treated under determined optimum conditions and evaluated for gene expression analysis using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results The results of this study indicated that exposure of endometrial stromal cells to FF resulted in the elevated expression of HOXA10 (fold change=2.6, P=0.02), HOXA11 (fold change=3.3, P=0.002), LIF (fold change=4.6, P=0.0003), ITGB3 (fold change=3.5, P=0.012), and ITGAV (fold change=2.8, P=0.001) compared to untreated cells. In addition, we found that SP-treated endometrial cells showed increased mRNA levels of only the LIF gene (fold change=2.5, P=0.008) compared to untreated cells. Conclusion Human SP and FF may modulate the endometrial receptivity and improve the implantation rate in assisted reproduction cycles through the up-regulation of endometrial receptivity genes.