Research question

Do follicular fluid hormone concentrations and the mRNA expression of LHCG, FSH and androgen receptors, aromatase and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in cumulus granulosa cells differ in naturally matured and stimulated follicles?

Design

Cross-sectional study involving 57 natural cycle IVF (NC-IVF) and 36 conventional gonadotrophin-stimulated IVF (cIVF) cycles performed between 2014 and 2016. cIVF was performed by ovarian stimulation with human menopausal gonadotrophin and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone antagonists. Hormone concentrations were determined in the follicular fluid of the leading follicle, and mRNA concentrations were quantified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in RNA extracted from granulosa cells of the cumulus oophorus complex obtained from these fluids.

Results

Follicular fluid hormone concentrations were significantly lower in cIVF compared with NC-IVF follicles. Median concentrations were 0.50 and 14.5 mIU/ml for LH (P < 0.001), 16.1 and 46.5 nmol/l for testosterone (P < 0.001), 1270 and 2675 nmol/l for oestradiol (P < 0.001), and 12.3 and 28.9 pmol/l for AMH (P < 0.001), respectively. In cumulus granulosa cells, mRNA concentrations for LH receptor, FSH receptor, androgen receptor, aromatase and AMH did not differ between cIVF and NC-IVF follicles. Several hormone and mRNA concentrations were quantitatively associated in natural cycles such as follicular fluid AMH and cumulus granulosa cells AMH RNA (r² = 0.107, P = 0.013), follicular fluid testosterone and cumulus granulosa cell AMH RNA (r² = 0.158, P = 0.002), follicular fluid oestradiol and cumulus granulosa cell AMH RNA (r² = 0.105, P = 0.014) and follicular fluid oestradiol and aromatase (r² = 0.113, P = 0.011). In contrast, these associations were not observed in stimulated cycles.

Conclusion

These findings indicate some effects of gonadotrophin stimulation on follicular physiology, which could be a cause for the previously suggested lower oocyte quality in cIVF compared with NC-IVF.

中文翻译：

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促性腺激素刺激降低卵泡液激素浓度并破坏其与卵丘细胞 mRNA 的定量关联

研究问题

自然成熟和刺激的卵泡中卵泡液激素浓度和 LHCG、FSH 和雄激素受体、芳香酶和抗苗勒管激素 (AMH) 的 mRNA 表达在颗粒卵丘细胞中是否不同？

设计

涉及 2014 年至 2016 年期间进行的 57 个自然周期 IVF (NC-IVF) 和 36 个常规促性腺激素刺激 IVF (cIVF) 周期的横断面研究。cIVF 是通过用人类绝经期促性腺激素和促性腺激素释放激素拮抗剂进行卵巢刺激来进行的。在前导卵泡的卵泡液中测定激素浓度，并通过从这些液体中获得的卵丘复合物的颗粒细胞中提取的 RNA 中的逆转录聚合酶链反应来量化 mRNA 浓度。

结果

与 NC-IVF 卵泡相比，cIVF 中的卵泡液激素浓度显着降低。LH 的中位浓度分别为 0.50 和 14.5 mIU/ml（P  < 0.001），睾酮的中位浓度为 16.1 和 46.5 nmol/l（P  < 0.001），雌二醇的中位浓度为 1270 和 2675 nmol/l（P  < 0.001），以及 12.3 和 28.9 pmol /l 分别为 AMH ( P  < 0.001)。在颗粒卵丘细胞中，LH 受体、FSH 受体、雄激素受体、芳香酶和 AMH 的 mRNA 浓度在 cIVF 和 NC-IVF 卵泡之间没有差异。几种激素和 mRNA 浓度与卵泡液 AMH 和颗粒丘细胞 AMH RNA 等自然周期定量相关 ( r ²  = 0.107, P = 0.013），卵泡液睾酮和颗粒卵丘细胞AMH RNA（r ²  = 0.158，P  = 0.002），卵泡液雌二醇和颗粒卵丘细胞AMH RNA（r ²  = 0.105，P  = 0.014）和卵泡液雌二醇和芳香酶（r ²  = 0.113，P  = 0.011）。相反，在受刺激的周期中没有观察到这些关联。

结论

这些发现表明促性腺激素刺激对卵泡生理的一些影响，这可能是之前提出的 cIVF 中卵母细胞质量低于 NC-IVF 的原因。