Research group of reproductive biology
TalTech priority area
Research classification (Frascati)
Head of the research group
Research group member
Doctoral students
Keyword
Overview
Infertility is a worldwide problem with medical, socio-economical as well as psychologicalaspects. According to the European Society ofHuman Reproduction and Embryology, medicalintervention is sought for by 15% of couples whowish to conceive their biological offspring (www.eshre.eu).The Research Group of Reproductive Biology ismainly focused on the problems of female infertility and we investigate the biological processes inhuman ovary. Our main goal is to describe intercellular molecular interactions in the ovary andto find factors that would aid in discriminatingbetween viable and non-viable oocytes. Variousgenome-wide high-throughput technologies areused in our research: next-generation sequencing,proteomics and data analysis methods in the fieldof systems biology to mention a few. We collaborate with all infertility clinics in Estonia in orderto collect biological samples (ovarian granulosacells, ovarian biopsies, follicular fluid, and bloodsamples) from fertile and infertile women.The research group of reproductive biology ismainly focused on investigating the molecularorigins of female infertility and the possibilitiesfor diagnostics in the field. Our research subjectscan be divided into three categories:a. Research on human ovary and relatedetiologies of infertility.b. The effect of environmental chemicals onovarian function.c. Research on human endometrium andinvestigating the molecular disturbancesin the embryo implantation process.We collaborate closely with all infertility clinicsin Estonia as well as with the Competence Centeron Health Technologies.We use modern gene expression and cell population characterization methods: next generationsequencing, single cell technologies, functionalassays in cell-line and primary cell culturemodels, etc. The acquired data is analysed andmodelled by bioinformatic algorithms.
Related projects
Related department
- Roos, K., Rooda, I., Keif, R.-S., Liivrand, M., Smolander, O.-P., Salumets, A., Velthut-Meikas, A. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis and cell-cluster deconvolution of the human preovulatory follicular fluid cells provide insights into the pathophysiology of ovarian hyporesponse // Frontiers in Endocrinology (2022) vol. 13, art. 945347.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.945347 - Bellavia, A., Zou, R., Bjorvang, R. D., Roos, K., Sjunnesson, Y., Hallberg, I., Vermeulen, R., Salumets, A., Velthut-Meikas, A., Damdimopoulou, P. Association between chemical mixtures and female fertility in women undergoing assisted reproduction in Sweden and Estonia // Environmental research (2023) vol. 216, 1, art. 114447, 14 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114447 - Godakumara, K., Ord, J., Lättekivi, F., Dissanayake, K., Viil, J., Boggavarapu, N. R., Faridani, O. R., Jääger, K., Velthut-Meikas, A., Jaakma, Ü., Salumets, A., Fazeli, A. Trophoblast derived extracellular vesicles specifically alter the transcriptome of endometrial cells and may constitute a critical component of embryo-maternal communication // Reproductive biology and endocrinology (2021) vol. 19, 1, art. 115.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-021-00801-5 - Lavogina, D., Stepanjuk, A., Peters, M., Samuel, K., Kasvandik, S., Khatun, M., Arffman, R. K., Enkvist, E., Viht, K., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Progesterone triggers Rho kinase-cofilin axis during in vitro and in vivo endometrial decidualization // Human reproduction (2021) vol. 36, 8, p. 2230-2248.
https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deab161 - Rooda, I., Kaselt, B., Liivrand, M., Smolander, O.-P., Salumets, A., Velthut-Meikas, A. Hsa-mir-548 family expression in human reproductive tissues // BMC Genomic Data (2021) Vol. 22, Issue 1, Art. 40.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-021-00997-w - Duursen, M.B.M. van, Boberg, J., Christiansen, S., Jääger, K., Salumets, A., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Safeguarding female reproductive health against endocrine disrupting chemicals-The FREIA project // International journal of molecular sciences (2020) vol. 21, 9, art. 3215.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21093215 - Kasvandik, S., Saarma, M., Kaart, T., Rooda, I., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Uterine fluid proteins for minimally invasive assessment of endometrial receptivity // The journal of clinical endocrinology & metabolism (2020) vol. 105, 1, p. 219-230.
https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgz019 - Johansson, H. K. L., Damdimopoulou, P., Jääger, K., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Putative adverse outcome pathways for female reproductive disorders to improve testing and regulation of chemicals // Archives of toxicology (2020) vol. 94, 10, p. 3359–3379.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-020-02834-y - Rooda, I., Hasan, M.M., Roos, K., Viil, J., Smolander, Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Cellular, extracellular and extracellular vesicular miRNA profiles of pre-ovulatory follicles indicate signaling disturbances in polycystic ovaries // International journal of molecular sciences (2020) vol. 21, 24, art. 9550, 23 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21249550 - Hasan, M.M., Viil, J., Lättekivi, F., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Bovine follicular fluid and extracellular vesicles derived from follicular fluid alter the bovine oviductal epithelial cells transcriptome // International journal of molecular sciences (2020) vol. 21, 15, art. 5365 ; 16 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21155365 - Dissanayake, K., Nõmm, M., Lättekivi, F., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Oviduct as a sensor of embryo quality: deciphering the extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated embryo-maternal dialogue // Journal of molecular medicine (2021) vol. 99, issue 5, p. 685–697 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-021-02042-w - Rooda, I., Hensen, K., Kaselt, B., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Target prediction and validation of microRNAs expressed from FSHR and aromatase genes in human ovarian granulosa cells // Scientific reports (2020) vol. 10, 1, art. 2300, 13 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59186-x - Reshi, Q.U.A., Viil, J., Ord, J., Lättekivi, F., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. Spermatozoa induce transcriptomic alterations in bovine oviductal epithelial cells prior to initial contact // Journal of cell communication and signaling (2020) vol. 14, p. 439–451.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12079-020-00575-2 - Teder, H., Koel, M., Paluoja, P., Velthut-Meikas, A. et al. TAC-seq : targeted DNA and RNA sequencing for precise biomarker molecule counting // npj genomic medicine (2018) vol. 3, art. 34, 8 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41525-018-0072-5 - Rekker, K., Altmäe, S., Suhorutshenko, M., Peters, M., Martinez-Blanch, J.F., Codoñer, F.M., Vilella, F., Simón, C., Salumets, A., Velthut-Meikas, A. A two-cohort RNA-seq study reveals changes in endometrial and blood mirnome in fertile and infertile women // Genes (2018) vol. 9, 12, Article nr. 574.
https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9120574 - Suhorutshenko, M., Kukushkina, V., Velthut-Meikas, A., Altmäe, S., Peters, M., Mägi, R., Krjutškov, K., Koel, M., Codoñer, F.M., Martinez-Blanch, J.F. et al. Endometrial receptivity revisited : endometrial transcriptome adjusted for tissue cellular heterogeneity // Human reproduction (2018) vol. 33, 11, 12 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey301