Relationship between the metabolic and lipid profile in follicular fluid of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (original) (raw)
Related papers
Follicular fluid content and oocyte quality: from single biochemical markers to metabolomics
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, 2009
The assessment of oocyte quality in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) is getting increasing attention from embryologists. Oocyte selection and the identification of the best oocytes, in fact, would help to limit embryo overproduction and to improve the results of oocyte cryostorage programs. Follicular fluid (FF) is easily available during oocyte pick-up and theorically represents an optimal source on non-invasive biochemical predictors of oocyte quality. Unfortunately, however, the studies aiming to find a good molecular predictor of oocyte quality in FF were not able to identify substances that could be used as reliable markers of oocyte competence to fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy. In the last years, a well definite trend toward passing from the research of single molecular markers to more complex techniques that study all metabolites of FF has been observed. The metabolomic approach is a powerful tool to study biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, but its application in this area is still at the beginning. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge about the biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, describing both the results coming from studies on single biochemical markers and those deriving from the most recent studies of metabolomics
REPRODUCTION, 2013
The use of metabolomic based techniques to aid oocyte and embryo selection has gained attention in recent years. Previous work from our laboratory has demonstrated that the 1H NMR-based metabolic profile of follicular fluid correlates with oocyte developmental potential. Patients undergoing IVF at the Merrion Fertility Clinic had follicular fluid collected at the time of oocyte retrieval. The fatty acid composition of follicular fluid from follicles where oocytes fertilised and developed into multi-cell embryos (n=15) and from oocytes that fertilised normally but failed to cleave (n=9) (cleaved vs non-cleaved) was compared. Statistical analysis was performed on the data using univariate and multivariate techniques. Analysis of the fatty acid composition revealed that there were nine fatty acids significantly different between follicular fluid from the cleaved and the non-cleaved sample groups. Of particular interest were the higher concentration of total saturated (P=0.03) and the l...
2017
It has been documented that specific follicular fluid (FF) biochemical characteristics may be essential to determining oocyte quality. Lipid derivatives have the most important role in the fertilization process and embryonic development. MALDI mass spectrometry is used for the diagnosis of biomolecules in the FF and serum of infertile women. FF and blood samples from 13 infertile women (20-38 years old) undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was obtained, stored frozen at-80 ºC, and later analyzed for Lipid Derivatives. Both FF and serum samples were compared and Mf g was used as similarity index. For comparison between the FF and serum samples for one person, the mass spectrometry (MS) intensity ratio versus molecular weight, between the FF and serum samples were calculated. Out of 13 patients, three ongoing pregnancies were observed, so the percentage of pregnancy in the studied population was 25%. The patients who became pregnant after micro-injection had higher unsat...
2017
It has been documented that specific follicular fluid (FF) biochemical characteristics may be essential to determining oocyte quality. Lipid derivatives have most important role in the fertilization process and embryonic development. MALDI mass spectrometry is used for the diagnosis of biomolecules in the FF and serum of infertile women. FF and blood samples from 13 infertile women (20-38years old) undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was obtained, stored frozen at -80o C, and later analyzed for Lipid Derivatives. Both FF and serum samples were compared and the Mfg was used as similarity index. For comparison between the FF and serum samples for one person, the Mass spectrometry (MS) intensity ratio versus molecular weight, between the FF and serum samples were calculated. Out of 13 patients, three ongoing pregnancies were observed, so the percentage of pregnancy in the studied population was 25%. The patients who became pregnant after micro-injection had higher unsatu...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Nearly 40–50% of infertility problems are estimated to be of female origin. Previous studies dedicated to the analysis of metabolites in follicular fluid (FF) produced contrasting results, although some valuable indexes capable to discriminate control groups (CTRL) from infertile females (IF) and correlate with outcome measures of assisted reproduction techniques were in some instances found. In this study, we analyzed in blind FF of 35 control subjects (CTRL = patients in which inability to obtain pregnancy was exclusively due to a male factor) and 145 IF (affected by: endometriosis, n = 19; polycystic ovary syndrome, n = 14; age-related reduced ovarian reserve, n = 58; reduced ovarian reserve, n = 29; unexplained infertility, n = 14; genetic infertility, n = 11) to determine concentrations of 55 water- and fat-soluble low molecular weight compounds (antioxidants, oxidative/nitrosative stress-related compounds, purines, pyrimidines, energy-related metabolites, and amino acids). Res...
Biomolecules
Follicular fluid (FF) constitutes the microenvironment of the developing oocyte. We recently characterized its lipid composition and found lipid signatures of positive pregnancy outcome after in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the current study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that unexplained female infertility is related to lipid metabolism, given the lipid signature of positive-outcome IVF patients we previously found. Assuming that FF samples from IVF patients with male factor infertility can represent a non-hindered metabolic microenvironment, we compared them to FF taken from women with unexplained infertility. FF from patients undergoing IVF was examined for its lipid composition. We found highly increased triacylglycerol levels, with a lower abundance of monoacylglycerols, phospholipids and sphingolipids in the FF of patients with unexplained infertility. The alterations in the lipid class accumulation were independent of the body mass index (BMI) and were altogether kept acro...
Fertility and Sterility, 2012
Objective: To determine whether metabolomic analysis of follicular fluid could prove a useful noninvasive technique for the selection of viable oocytes and embryos. Design: Metabolomic analysis based on proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H NMR) performed on follicular fluid collected from in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients. Setting: A university research center and a private fertility clinic. Patient(s): Fifty-eight women undergoing IVF treatment. Intervention(s): Follicular fluid collected at the time of oocyte retrieval. Main Outcome Measure(s): Metabolomic profile, assessment of oocyte developmental potential and embryo viability. Result(s): The metabolomic profile of follicular fluid from follicles where the oocyte resulted in a fertilized egg that failed to cleave (n ¼ 9) was distinctly different from that where oocytes developed into early cleavage-stage embryos. Discriminating metabolites included glucose, lactate, choline/ phosphocholine, and lipoproteins. Comparison of follicular fluid from women who subsequently had a positive b human chorionic gonadotropin (n ¼ 10) to those who were unsuccessful in achieving a pregnancy (n ¼ 12) revealed metabolic differences that were correlated to cycle outcome. Conclusion(s): Differences in the metabolite composition of follicular fluid correlate with the developmental competence of the human oocyte. Therefore, metabolomic profiling of follicular fluid may prove to be an important technique in gamete/embryo selection.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
In goats, embryo oocyte competence is affected by follicle size, regardless of the age of the females. In previous studies, we found differences in blastocyst development between oocytes coming of small (< 3 mm) and large follicles (> 3 mm) in prepubertal (1–2 month-old) goats. Oocyte competence and follicular fluid (FF) composition changes throughout follicle growth. The aim of this study was to analyze the fatty acids (FAs) composition and metabolomic profiles of FF recovered from small and large follicles of prepubertal goats and follicles of adult goats. FAs were analyzed by chromatography and metabolites by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectrometry. The results showed important differences between adult and prepubertal follicles: a) the presence of α,β-glucose in adult and no detection in prepubertal; b) lactate, -N-(CH3)3 groups and inositol were higher in prepubertal; c) the percentage of linolenic acid, total saturated fatty acids and n-3 PUFAs were higher in...
Fertility and Sterility, 2014
Objective: To study how long-term elevated non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations, typical in metabolic disorders such as obesity or type 2 diabetes, affect murine follicular development, follicle quality, and subsequent oocyte developmental competence in vitro. Design: Experimental study. Setting: In vitro culture setting. Animal(s): Female and male 13-day old, B6CBAF1 mice of proven fertility were sacrificed for harvesting ovaries and epididymal sperm, respectively. Intervention(s): Early secondary murine follicles were cultured in vitro in the presence of NEFAs until the antral stage (12 days). Treatments consisted of one or a mixture of NEFAs (stearic acid [SA], palmitic acid [PA], oleic acid [OA]) in physiological (basal) or pathological (high SA, high OA, high NEFA) concentrations. Main Outcome Measure(s): Follicular development; follicle and oocyte diameters; secretion of progesterone, estradiol, and inhibin B; and luteinized granulosa cell gene expression patterns were investigated. Oocytes from NEFA-exposed follicles were fertilized in vitro, and presumptive zygotes were cultured until the blastocyst stage. Result(s): Exposure to high SA reduced follicle diameters and day-12 antrum formation. Elevated NEFA concentrations changed luteinized granulosa cell messenger-ribonucleic acid abundance of genes related to energy/fatty acid/steroid metabolism, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. High NEFA and high SA treatments increased progesterone synthesis, compared with high OA follicles. Oocyte developmental competence was substantially reduced in oocytes retrieved from high OA-, high SA-, and high NEFA-exposed follicles compared with basal-treated follicles. Conclusion(s): This study showed, for the first time, that lipolysis-linked, elevated NEFA concentrations can potentially impair fertility, by altering follicular physiology and reducing oocyte developmental competence.
NMR metabolic profile of human follicular fluid
NMR in Biomedicine, 2010
The environment of the oocyte during its in vivo maturation consists of follicular fluid (FF) and is surrounded by granulosa cells. The FF is derived from the sanguineous plasma and secretions, synthesised in the follicle wall, that contain a large variety of growth factors, cytokines, amino acids, and other metabolites. These metabolites are presumably involved in the physiology of the oocyte. The identification, quantification and study of FF metabolites can provide additional information about the oocyte state which can be helpful in distinguishing those oocytes that have a greater capacity to be fertilised and to develop properly. The aim of this work is to identify the metabolic profile of FF samples exhaustively using High Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). A total of 30 FF samples from oocyte donors (<35 years) were analysed. Different monodimensional (1D) and bidimensional (2D) (homo and heteronuclear) NMR experiments were acquired. A total of 131 chemical shifts were assigned and 42 metabolites, including as example glucose, lactate, acetate, acetoacetate, pyruvate and b-hydroxybutyrate, were identified. High correlations were found between these important intermediaries of the energetic metabolic pathways of the follicle which can indicate the importance of these pathways in oocyte development. Some of these identified metabolites might be useful as biomarkers of the follicular maturation state, allowing oocytes with a higher fertilisation potential to be selected, thereby increasing pregnancy rates in women following in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments.