From “Every Day” Hormonal to Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Blood and Follicular Fluid, to Embryo Quality and Pregnancy Success?

Background. Oxidative stress appears to be involved in oocyte growth and maturation that when impaired results in poor embryo quality and lower potential to implant. The biochemical microenvironment of the oocyte (follicular fluid (FF)) consists of hormones and other various substances regulating the balance between oxidants and antioxidants. Aim. The aim of this study was to examine the possible impact of selected biomarkers (“every day,” hormonal biomarkers, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants, and also oxidative stress markers) in serum and FF, on embryo quality and pregnancy success in infertile women undergoing infertility treatment. Methods. All 53 patients, mean age 34.7±4.1 years, with serum AMH level≥0.7 ng/mL, were diagnosed with idiopathic infertility. They were stimulated in short antagonist protocol, followed by in vitro fertilization (IVF-ICSI intracytoplasmatic sperm injection) and a single embryo transfer. Follicular fluid was aspirated from the first mature follicle. In statistical analyses the R software was used, then all data was assessed with the Shapiro-Wilk test, logistic regression, and later the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied using “pROC” R package. Results. We did not observe any correlation between AMH and embryo quality and pregnancy rate. Statistically significant results were only found for biomarkers examined in follicular fluid. Greater levels of GPX in FF were associated with the increased chance of producing a high quality embryo (the optimal cut-off concentration was established at over 450 lU/L.) Regarding pregnancy success, increasing levels of GR (cut-off at 21 IU/L), CuZnSOD (cut-off at 9NU/mL), and GST (cut-off at 2.5 IU/L) resulted in lower chances of a successful pregnancy. Conclusion. Our results indicate that FF markers may have some advantages in predicting embryo quality and pregnancy over AMH. The GPX system seems to be mostly related to embryo quality and pregnancy.

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Estradiol and Progesterone Levels are Related to Redox Status in the Follicular Fluid During In Vitro Fertilization

Journal of the Endocrine Society ◽

10.1210/jendso/bvaa064 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (7) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bartira Marques Pizarro ◽

Aline Cordeiro ◽

Mila Weydtt Reginatto ◽

Samir P C Campos ◽

Ana Cristina A Mancebo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

In Vitro Fertilization ◽

Follicular Fluid ◽

Redox Status ◽

Oocyte Quality ◽

Fertility Treatment ◽

Blood Contamination ◽

Oxidative Stress Biomarkers ◽

Vitro Fertilization

Abstract Studies have reported a possible association between the levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in follicular fluid (FF) and infertility treatment outcomes. FF analysis can provide important information about oocyte quality. This study aimed to evaluate the possible correlation between oxidative stress biomarker and intrafollicular hormone levels and clinical and laboratory parameters in women during controlled ovarian stimulation. These women were undergoing in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).The FF samples were acquired from September 2012 to February 2014 from women undergoing private fertility treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A total of 196 women who were undergoing ICSI and had different infertility diagnoses were recruited. The FF from each patient (average patient age of 36.3 ± 4.3 years) was collected following puncture of just one follicle with the largest diameter. After ruling out blood contamination by spectrophotometry, 163 patient samples were utilized in the study. In the FF, the progesterone levels were negatively correlated with (a) hydrogen peroxide scavenging capacity (HPSC) (r = −0.294, P < 0.0001), (b) total number of follicles (r = −0.246, P < 0.001) and (c) total number of oocytes punctured (r = −0.268, P = 0.0001). The concentration of serum estradiol exhibited a positive correlation with intrafollicular HPSC (r = 0.165, P = 0.037). Our data indicate that the FF levels of estradiol and progesterone are related to the FF redox status, which is closely associated with the number of oocytes obtained during ICSI procedures.

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