Krzysztof Lukaszuk

• MD, PhD
• Professor (Full) at Medical University of Gdansk

This study explores the proteomic composition of follicular fluid (FF) from women undergoing oocyte retrieval for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), with a focus on the effects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). FF samples were collected from 74 patients, including 34 with PCOS and 40 oocyte donors. Proteomic profiling using machine learning identifie...

Ageing populations, mass “baby-free” policies and children born to mothers at the age at which they are biologically expected to become grandmothers are growing problems in most developed societies. Therefore, any opportunity to improve the quality of infertility treatments seems important for the survival of societies. The possibility of indirectl...

Background Although, oocytes from prepubertal donors are known to be less developmentally competent than those from adult donors it does not restrain their ability to produce full-term pregnancies. The transcriptomic profile of embryos could be used as a predictor for embryo’s individual developmental competence. The aim of the study was to compare...

Sir, We appreciate the interest of Garcia-Velasco et al. (2023) in our recent opinion article that argued that the DuoStim protocol in poor responders lacks rationale, evidence, and appropriate follow-up (Tocci et al., 2023). The critical response from Garcia-Velasco et al. is, however, contradicted by a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) tha...

In bovine females, the production of embryos derived from oocytes obtained by ovum pick-up (OPU) is becoming a frequent procedure. Collection of oocytes from pre-pubertal animals enables shortening the genetic distance, especially in high-value animals. Nevertheless, the oocyte and later embryo developmental potential differ between oocytes derived...

We present a commentary on the article published in the Zygote FirstView: 'Importance of real-time measurement of sperm head morphology in intracytoplasmic sperm injection' by Fumiaki Itoi and colleagues. We comment on the importance of providing the microscope setup details whenever sperm morphology visualization is discussed. The claim of ×6000-1...

Double ovarian stimulation (DuoStim), initially only suggested for fertility preservation in cancer patients, is now increasingly also used in routine clinical IVF, especially in poor responders. The claimed rational for this is the alleged existence of multiple follicular waves in a single intermenstrual interval, allowing for retrieval of more oo...

The blastocyst expresses paternally derived alloantigens and induces inflammation during implantation. However, it is necessary for the onset of pregnancy. An abnormal response might result in a pathological course of pregnancy or pregnancy failure. On the other hand, a state of maternal immune tolerance is necessary to ensure the normal developmen...

In the cattle-breeding industry, there is an increasing demand for in vitro embryo production from pre-pubertal heifers. In this study, we evaluated the differences in mitochondrial DNA content, oxidative stress, and developmental competence in blastocysts derived from pre-pubertal and pubertal heifers. We found higher mitochondrial DNA copy number...

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the fifth leading cause of cancer death. In 2020, there were 2.3 million new cases, and 685,000 women died from it. Breast cancer among young women under 40 years of age accounts for 5% to 10% of all cases of this cancer. The greater availability of multi-gene sequence analysis by ne...

A retrospective case control study was undertaken at the molecular biology department of a private center for reproductive medicine in order to determine whether any correlation exists between the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content of trophectoderm and embryo developmental potential. A total of 275 couples underwent IVF treatment, producing a total...

This study aimed to measure, considering a prior history of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (SCV-negative/positive), antibodies titer using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany), in a serum of healthcare workers (HCW) who received two doses of BNT162b2 vaccines. The local...

Introduction. Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Poland and in the world, with a mortality rate second only to that of lung cancer. Breasts are one of the most important symbols of femininity and sexuality. Cancer surgery, but also systemic therapy (chemotherapy and hormone therapy) cause a change in the perception of one’s...

Media reports have caused a significant drop in confidence in the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 COVID-19 vector vaccine (Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca Södertälje, Sweden). This has caused many people, already vaccinated with the first dose of AstraZeneca, to refuse vaccination with this product. On the other hand, the increased demand for mRNA vaccines has...

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life (QoL) of men treated for infertility in Poland. This cross-sectional study was conducted using the Abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF), Fertility Quality of Life tool (FertiQoL) and an author-constructed questionnaire. The study included 1200 men t...

Mitochondria are well known as ‘the powerhouses of the cell’. Indeed, their major role is cellular energy production driven by both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Such a feature makes these organelles essential for successful fertilisation and proper embryo implantation and development. Generally, mitochondrial DNA is exclusively maternally inherit...

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a widely used and accepted treatment of choice for oocyte fertilization. However, the quality of sperm selection depends on the accurate visualization of the morphology, which can be achieved with a high image resolution. We aim to correct the conviction, shown in a myriad of publications, that an ultra-hi...

A retrospective case control study was undertaken at the molecular biology department of a private center for reproductive medicine in order to determine whether any correlation exists between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content of cleavage-stage preimplantation embryos and their developmental potential. A total of 69 couples underwent IVF treatment...

In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, using a half-dose schedule vaccination can help to return to normalcy in a cost-efficient manner, which is especially important for low and middle-income countries. We undertook a study to confirm that in adults up to 55 years old, the humoral response to the half-dose (15 µg, 35 participants between...

We report a case of monitoring the antibody response to the BioNTech–Pfizer vaccine of a 50-year-old female diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing treatment with methotrexate (MTX). Antibody levels were measured 21 days after dose 1 (i.e., on the day of dose 2) and then 8, 14 and 30 days after dose 2 with Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay (Ro...

Simple Summary A article proved that, in rats with PTU-induced hypothyroidism, the E2 level as well as the expression of the uterine-receptivity factors homeobox A10 and osteopontin was decreased. Additionally, we observed changes in the expression of PGE2, PGF2α, and PGI2 signaling pathway elements, and changes in the concentrations of those prost...

Study question Does the PICSI have a beneficial effect for men with abnormal HBA on the fertilization rate, blastocysts number and clinical pregnancies in the next attempt? Summary answer Patients with HBA <80% choosing to undergo PICSI after ICSI failure see an increase in blastocyst and pregnancy rates. What is known already Hyaluronic acid (HA...

Study question To evaluate the correlation between the serum level of stem cell factor (s-SCF) during the stimulation and results of embryo culture. Summary answer The serum SCF concentration at the stimulation stage may be a potential predictor of IVF outcome in endometriosis patients. What is known already Stem cell factor (SCF) is a pleiotropi...

Background: The introduction of the vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection creates the need for precise tools for the quality control of vaccination procedures, detection of poor humoral response, and estimation of the achieved protection against the disease. Thus, the study aimed to compare the results of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 tests to evaluate t...

We present two separate label-free quantitative workflows based on different high-resolution mass spectrometers and LC setups, which are termed after the utilized instrument: Quad-Orbitrap (nano-LC) and Triple Quad-TOF (micro-LC) and their directed adaptation toward the analysis of human follicular fluid proteome. We identified about 1000 proteins...

Objective The main aim of this prospective study was to investigate the relationship between intrafollicular vitamin D and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration and its impact on oocyte quality and developmental competence. Methods The analysis was performed on 208 follicular fluid (FF) samples obtained from 33 patients undergoing ovarian sti...

Background The introduction of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection needs precise instruments for quality control of vaccination procedure, detection of poor immunological response and estimation of the achieved protection against the disease but also against infection and being infective. Objective To compare new automated SARS-CoV 2 Ig assay...

Simple Summary The results of the presented study proved that in vitro produced early- and late- cleaved bovine embryos express mRNA of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) at all stages of early development (2-, 4-, 16-cell embryo, morula, blastocyst). The expression of PPARδ...

In this study, we performed an analysis of the impact of performance enhancing polymorphisms (PEPs) on gymnastic aptitude while considering epistatic effects. Seven PEPs (rs1815739, rs8192678, rs4253778, rs6265, rs5443, rs1076560, rs362584) were considered in a case (gymnasts)–control (sedentary individuals) setting. The study sample comprised of t...

(Abstracted from Science 2019;365:1466–1469) While it is understood that young females (≥13 years to early 20s) and women of advancing maternal age (AMA, mid-30s or older) have reduced fertility rates, the exact mechanisms behind this feature of the fertility curve remain unclear. Because chromosomal errors and aneuploidy cause a significant amount...

The role of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the successful resumption of oocyte meiosis and cumulus expansion has been well-documented. However, there remains very little information available on the influence of PGE2 on other processes that occur during oocyte maturation. In this study, we supplemented a maturation medium with PGE2 and monitored oocyte...

In this study, we performed an analysis of the impact of performance enhancing polymorphisms (PEPs) on gymnastic aptitude while considering epistatic effects. Seven PEPs ( rs1815739, rs8192678, rs4253778, rs6265, rs5443, rs1076560, rs362584 ) were considered in a case (gymnasts) – control (sedentary individuals) setting. The study sample comprised...

The main aim of this prospective study was to investigate the effect of the concentration of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K in individual follicles on oocyte quality and developmental competence. The analysis was performed on 313 follicular fluid (FF) samples from 50 patients undergoing ovarian stimulation with intracytoplasmic sperm injection....

Low biomass microbiome has an increasing importance in today's fertility studies. There are more and more indications for incorporating upper gynecological tract microbiome content in patients diagnostic and in vitro fertilization process, as doing so may help to evaluate chances for a positive outcome. An abnormal endometrial microbiota has been a...

Understanding fertility in young and old Fertility in humans follows a U-curve, with low rates in both teenagers and women of advancing maternal age (mid-30s and above). Gruhn et al. found that this distinct shape originates from chromosomal errors in human eggs, which result in genomic imbalance and pregnancy loss. The error types and chromosomes...

The aim of the study was to determine if serum testosterone (T) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEAS) levels are a factor in determining increased risk for embryonic aneuploidy in karyotypically normal women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic testing screening for aneuploidy (PGT-A). This is a retrospective cohort stud...

Evidence based midwifery education and practice are fundamental to assure high quality care of childbearing women, also with complications. In Poland, midwifery education includes aspects of participation in the abortion. A cross-sectional study was designed to describe the attitudes towards abortion at the beginning and at the end of students’ uni...

The role of vitamin D in perinatology is a subject of major interest in current medicine. There is growing evidence about the role of maternal vitamin D levels in pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this review is to summarize the current literature about the role of vitamin D in perinatology. Evidence from this review suggests associations between low...

This is a preliminary report of the first cases of successful simultaneous use of ulipristal acetate (UPA) and vitamin D3 in uterine fibroid (UF) oral treatment in humans. We present two cases of 37- and 49-year-old females with clinically symptomatic UFs and vitamin D deficiency. Both patients were treated with a standard 3 months of UPA scheme (5...

Uterine fibroids (UFs) are the most common benign tumors of the female genital tract. The incidence of UFs has been estimated at 25–80% depending on selected population. The pathophysiology of UFs remains poorly understood. The transformation of smooth muscle cells of the uterus into abnormal, immortal cells, capable of clonal division, is the main...

This article provides a detailed review of current knowledge on the role of vitamin D and its receptor in the biology and management of uterine fibroids (UFs). Authors present ideas for future steps in this area. A literature search was conducted in PubMed using the following key words: “uterine fibroid” and “vitamin D”. The results of the availabl...

The present study analysed live birth ratios in frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles where embryo ploidy status was determined with preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) using next-generation sequencing (NGS). PGT was performed on trophectoderm cells biopsied at the blastocyst stage. The present prospective cohort study included 112 women undergoing...

Uterine fibroids (UFs) are one of the most common pathologies of the female genital tract. The incidence of UFs has been estimated at 25–80%. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is a cell-signaling protein involved in systemic inflammation and is one of the cytokines responsible for the acute phase reaction. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impac...

Significance: In the search of biomarkers for assessment of oocyte quality in assisted reproductive technology, many studies are devoted to analysis of follicular fluid composition. Candidates for such biomarkers can be located in both the proteome and the recently investigated peptidome of hFF. Reliable qualitative and especially quantitative ana...

Uterine fibroids (UFs) are the most common tumors of the female genital tract. The effect of UFs on the quality of life and the overall cost of treatment are significant issues worldwide. Tumor size and location are the two specific factors which influence the occurrence of symptoms, the need for, and method of, treatment (some tumors require surge...

Uterine fibroids (UFs) are benign tumors of the female genital tract made of the smooth muscle of the uterus. UF growth depends mostly on the influence of the steroid hormones and selected growth factors. Transforming growth factor β (TGF-βs) is a polypeptide that consists of three isoforms: TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3. At present, TGF-β is consider...

Numerous social and environmental factors (environmental hazards, social factors such as education and career, higher economic status desired before the decision is made to have children) influence a women's decision to postpone pregnancy until late reproductive age. In turn, age is related to a fall in ovarian reserve. The main goal of testing ova...

Objective The primary aim of this preliminary study was to compare the IVF results of couples living in rural and urban areas. Additionally, the ovarian reserve parameters, such as AMH concentrations, were compared for the same groups. Material and Methods The database of 1,265 women undergoing in vitro fertilization at the Invicta Fertility Cente...

Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine whether the assays exhibit an interaction with age and exhibit heterogeneous age related declines in AMH. Apart of chronological age, AMH variation was investigated with relation to menstrual cycle day (MCD). The goal implicates two questions: Are distributions of AMH concentrations homogenous after a...

Study question: Can anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) automated immunoassays (Elecsys® and Access) be used interchangeably as a companion diagnostic for individualisation of follitropin delta dosing? Summary answer: The Access assay gives systematically higher AMH values than the Elecsys® assay which results in over 29% of women being misclassified t...

Human follicular fluid (hFF) is a natural environment of oocyte maturation, and some components of hFF could be used to judge oocyte capability for fertilization and further development. In our pilot small scale study three samples from four donors (12 samples in total) were analyzed to determine which hFF proteins/peptides could be used to differe...

In this study, we compare two commercial automated immunoassays used to evaluate serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels as a prognostic value for ovarian response and pregnancy outcome in assisted reproductive technology cycles. Serum AMH was measured for 193 women. We performed a simultaneous measurement in serum AMH with the two alternative ki...

Purpose: Comparison of outcomes of IVF cycles where the AMH levels was measured with five different AMH kits: Immunotech (IOT), Beckman Coulter II Gen. RUO, Beckman Coulter II Gen. IVD (BC II IVD), Ansh Labs ultrasensitive (Ansh) and the automated Elecsys Roche assay. Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical data for 3693 cycles. Results: I...

Presence of vacuoles and degree of sperm DNA damage are considered to be the basic factors used for the assessment of sperm fertilization capacity. We aimed to investigate the link between these two parameters. According to our knowledge, this is the first study where the Comet assay was used to assess the degree of DNA fragmentation of sperm categ...

The aim of the study was to assess the granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) effect on unresponsive thin (<7 mm) endometrium in women undergoing frozen-thawed embryo transfer at the blastocyst stage. A total of 62 women with thin unresponsive endometrium were included in the study, of which, 29 received a G-CSF infusion and 33 who opted out...

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) used in assisted reproduction techniques is designed to provide help for couples trying to conceive a child, as it helps deliver healthy offspring. After in vitro fertilization, material is collected from the oocyte (polar body), 3-day-old embryo, or increasingly often, from the trophectoderm of a blastocyst....

Introduction: Fertility is referred to the capability for having offspring and can be evaluated by fertility rate. Women's fertility is strictly dependent on individual's age. The fertility peak occurs in the early 20s, and it starts to decline in the third and fourth decades of life (falling sharply after age 35). Aim: The aim of this work is t...

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a well established method for detecting genetic abnormalities during the course of infertility treatment, resulting in thousands of healthy newborns delivered worldwide. PGD with next generation sequencing (NGS) provides new possibilities for diagnosis and new parameters for evaluation. The use of next-gen...

Introduction: Somatic chromosomal rearrangements that occur in infertile males are thought to be one of the major genetic factors influencing male infertility. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate sperm parameters in a group of patients with balanced translocations. Material and methods: We analyzed semen of 84 balanced soma...

Most of the current preimplantation genetic screening of aneuploidies tests are based on the low quality and low density comparative genomic hybridization arrays. The results are based on fewer than 2,700 probes. Our main outcome was the association of aneuploidy rates and the women's age. Between August-December 2013, 198 blastocysts from women (m...

The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (Anti-TPO) on pregnancy outcome following the in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in general groups and in subgroups divided according to AMH level and age. A total of 114 patients positive for anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (Anti-TPO+ group...

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is well established method for treatment of genetic problems associated with infertility. Moreover, PGD with next-generation sequencing (NGS) provide new possibilities for diagnosis and new parameters for evaluation in, for example, aneuploidy screening. The aim of the study was to report the successful pregn...

Carriers of reciprocal (RCP) and Robertsonian (RT) translocations are known to be at risk for reproductive difficulties. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is one of the options these carriers have to try to fulfill their desire to have a child. The FISH technique is one of the best method to detect RCPs, and, together with the Next Generation...

To compare new automated antimüllerian hormone (AMH) assay performance characteristics from the new automated Elecsys AMH (Roche; Elecsys) and Access AMH (Beckman Coulter; Access) assays with the existing AMH Gen II ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Gen II; Beckman Coulter) and AMH/MIS ELISA (Ansh Labs; MIS) assays. Prospective assay evalua...

Początek ksztaltowania sie wiezi emocjonalnej miedzy matką a dzieckiem siega okresu prenatalnego. Porod jest kolejnym, naturalnym etapem rozwoju owej wiezi, w ktorym czynny udzial bierze polozna. Wieź miedzy matką a dzieckiem podczas porodu ksztaltuje sie na podstawie zaspokajania potrzeb dziecka, ktorymi są: ssanie piersi, zapewnienie odpowiedniej...

Introduction Sperm DNA integrity is a crucial paternal factor affecting fertilization and pregnancy rates, as well as embryo development. Case The present case report describes the successful pregnancy after testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) combined with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (TESA-ICSI) in a couple where the male presented hig...

The strategy of in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures relies on the increasing pregnancy rate and decreasing the risk of premature ovulation and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. They are also designed to avoid weekend oocyte retrievals. Combined oral contraceptive (OC) pills are among the medicines used to accomplish these objectives. Alternati...

Purpose The aimof the study was to create a predictivemodel of blastocyst development based on morphokinetic parameters of time-lapse embryoscope monitoring. Methods Time-lapse recordings of 432 embryos (obtained from 77 patients), monitored in Embryoscope, were involved in the study. Patients underwent in vitro fertilization according to standard...

The aim of our study was to determine whether serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) concentration and the models incorporating it could help clinicians to predict IVF outcomes in women with normal ovarian reserve undergoing their first long protocol. We performed a retrospective analysis of 459 women undergoing cycles of intracytoplasmic sp...

To determine the usefulness of semiconductor-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) for cleavage-stage preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of aneuploidy. Prospective case-control study. A private center for reproductive medicine. A total of 45 patients underwent day-3 embryo biopsy with PGD and fresh cycle transfer. Additionally, 53 patients, m...

Objectives: The aim of this report is to present data concerning results and complications related to infertility treatment using assisted reproductive technology (ART) and insemination (IUI) in Poland in 2012. Material and methods: The report was prepared by the Fertility and Sterility Special Interest Group of the Polish Gynaecological Society (S...

Objectives: Ovarian reserve is the main factor influencing the efficacy of infertility treatment. Currently the anti- Müllerian hormone is the main indicator of the ovarian reserve and has a wide spectrum of clinical importance. It achieved a high clinical value right after the introduction of the first commercial AMH assays in 2005. Lack further...

In the present study, we evaluated the clinical value of the following parameters: basal anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), inhibin B and antral follicle count (AFC) in predicting live birth outcomes. The study involved 603 women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) using the long protocol for controlled ovarian hy...

TO THE EDITOR: We read with great interest the article enti-tled ''Reference range for the antim€ ullerian hormone Genera-tion II assay: a population study of 10,984 women, with comparison to the established Diagnostics Systems Labora-tory nomogram'' by Nelson et al. (1). This excellent multicenter study found that the anticipated 40% increase in a...

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) measurements are widely used to optimize the stimulation protocols. First generation AMH kits correlated well with ovarian reserve and response to stimulation. In the present study we aimed to asses if the new generation kits share the same accurate correlations. Retrospective data were collected from 8323 blood samples...

The aim of the study was to assess the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) effects on unresponsive thin (<7 mm) endometrium in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). We included thirty-seven subjects who had thin unresponsive endometrium on the day of triggering ovulation. These patients also failed to achieve an adequate endometr...

Background: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) remains nowadays a valid alternative for couples at high-risk of having a child with a genetic disease and for women older than 37–40 years with the high risk of chromosomal aneuploidies in the embryos. However the use of PGD for high penetrance recessive, dominant and X-liked disorders occurring...

Introduction: Vulvar cancerisararetypeofcancer. InPolandin2010therewere491casesof vulvar cancer. Prognosticfactorsthatmayinfluence thecourseofthediseaseandresults of treatmentcanbedividedintofactorsassociatedwithtumor,individualfactorsofthe patient (age,socioeconomicstatus,co-morbidities,bodyweight,motivationtocomply) and environmental factors. Aim...

Introduction In recent years acupuncture has been used more and more often as an adjuvant infertility treatment. The first reports on the use of acupuncture in the infertility treatment were published in 1960. Many articles have been published about the effect of acupuncture on assisted reproductive techniques but the clinical significance of this...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women with extremely low (⩽0.4ng/ml) anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentrations. The study included 101 women (188 cycles) with extremely low AMH concentrations undergoing IVF cycles and compared the number of live births in women with low AMH. Moreover,...

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) remains nowadays a valid alternative for couples at high-risk of having a child with a genetic disease and for women older than 37--40 years with the high risk of chromosomal aneuploidies in the embryos. However the use of PGD for high penetrance recessive, dominant and X-liked disorders occurring in early li...