Assisted reproductive technology (ART) employs superovulation, in vitro culture and other micromanipulation to complete oocyte maturation, fertilization and early embryo development. Although these techniques have been successfully applied to solve infertility problems, the process may interfere in cell proliferation, differentiation and growth. The clinical and laboratory studies on the safety issue of ART are reviewed in this article. Studies found that the incidence of birth defects increased in ART offspring. Superovulation, in vitro culture and intracytoplasmic sperm injection may induce epigenetic aberrations during embryo development, which would influence the development of ART conceived children. The epigenetic susceptibility related to ART might be transmitted to subsequent generations, and the potential impact on ART offspring still need further investigation. In addition, ART treatments may also increase the risk of genetic diseases.
现代辅助生殖技术通过药物刺激实现多个卵子同步成熟，利用体外培养和显微操作完成精子和卵子受精结合以及早期胚胎的生长发育，在消除患者生殖障碍病因的同时，干涉了生殖细胞增殖、受精、发育乃至分化的多个过程，存在影响生殖细胞正常生长发育的可能性。本文结合国内外相关研究，从临床和基础两方面综述借助辅助生殖技术出生子代的安全性研究。研究显示，借助辅助生殖技术出生的子代出生缺陷的发生率增加。辅助生殖技术所包含的多项技术可能通过调节胚胎发育过程中基因的表观遗传信息进而影响子代的生长发育，并且某些影响可能传递到子二代，但这些变化对出生子代的潜在影响仍需进一步探索。