Cathay Medical Research Institute, Cathay General Hospital, New Taipei City, 22174, Taiwan.
Department of Oral Hygiene Care, Ching Kuo Institute of Management and Health, Keelong, Taiwan.
Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 15;12(1):19573. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-23737-1.
Oocyte maturity is critical to the development potential of the embryo and pregnancy outcomes in natural and in-vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF, oocyte maturity is typically evaluated using morphological criteria, although such assessment remains highly subjective. To identify reliable biomarkers of oocyte maturity, this study investigates the relationship between follicular cytokine concentrations and oocyte maturity in IVF patients with different ovarian reserves. In this prospective study, follicular fluid was collected during oocyte retrieval and the concentrations of cytokines involved in ovarian folliculogenesis were determined. Follicular fluid cytokine concentrations were compared between participants in three groups according to serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) concentration, as follows: low AMH, < 2 ng/mL; normal AMH, 2-5 ng/mL; and high AMH, > 5 ng/mL. Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis showed that the number of mature oocytes correlated positively and strongly with serum AMH level (r = 0.719; p < 0.01). The leptin concentration in follicular fluid was significantly higher in women with normal AMH level than in those with low or high levels. ROC curve analysis showed that the follicular fluid levels of leptin (area under ROC curve, 0.829; 95% confidence interval, 0.659-0.998; p < 0.01) and SCF (area under ROC curve, 0.706; 95% confidence interval, 0.491-0.921; p = 0.087) were the best predictors of oocyte maturity. At an optimal cut-off value of 16 ng/mL, leptin had positive predictive value (sensitivity) up to 70% and negative predictive value (specificity) of 91% for indicating oocyte maturity. The concentration of leptin in follicular fluid is closely related to ovarian reserve and may serve as a biomarker to predict oocyte maturity.
卵母细胞成熟度对胚胎发育潜能和自然及体外受精（IVF）的妊娠结局至关重要。在 IVF 中，卵母细胞成熟度通常通过形态学标准进行评估，尽管这种评估仍然高度主观。为了确定卵母细胞成熟度的可靠生物标志物，本研究调查了不同卵巢储备的 IVF 患者中卵泡细胞因子浓度与卵母细胞成熟度之间的关系。在这项前瞻性研究中，在卵母细胞回收期间收集卵泡液，并确定参与卵巢卵泡发生的细胞因子的浓度。根据血清抗苗勒管激素（AMH）浓度将卵泡液细胞因子浓度在三组参与者之间进行比较，如下所示：低 AMH，<2ng/mL；正常 AMH，2-5ng/mL；高 AMH，>5ng/mL。Pearson 相关系数分析显示，成熟卵母细胞的数量与血清 AMH 水平呈正相关且高度相关（r=0.719；p<0.01）。卵泡液中瘦素浓度在 AMH 水平正常的女性中明显高于 AMH 水平低或高的女性。ROC 曲线分析显示，卵泡液中瘦素（ROC 曲线下面积，0.829；95%置信区间，0.659-0.998；p<0.01）和 SCF（ROC 曲线下面积，0.706；95%置信区间，0.491-0.921；p=0.087）的水平是卵母细胞成熟度的最佳预测指标。在 16ng/mL 的最佳截断值下，瘦素对指示卵母细胞成熟的阳性预测值（敏感性）高达 70%，阴性预测值（特异性）为 91%。卵泡液中瘦素的浓度与卵巢储备密切相关，可作为预测卵母细胞成熟度的生物标志物。
