Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Centre of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Santariškių St., LT-08661 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 26;24(3):2450. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032450.
The prevalence of infertility is getting higher over the years. The increasing age of first-time parents, although economically more desirable, can cause various biological problems from low natural conception rate to poor pregnancy outcomes. The growing demand for assisted reproductive technology procedures worldwide draws medical specialists' and scientists' attention to various elements which could lead to successful conception, such as follicular fluid (FF) and hormones. In this study, we analyzed the effects of exposure to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) on FF-derived stromal cells isolated from females admitted for treatment due to infertility, participating in assisted reproductive technologies procedures. We demonstrated that FF stromal cells are positive for mesenchymal stromal cell surface markers (CD90, CD44, CD166) and showed that FSH has no impact on FF stromal cell morphology yet lowers proliferation rate. Using a real-time polymerase chain reaction method, we indicated that the expression of is significantly downregulated in FF sediment cells of patients who did not conceive; furthermore, we showed that FSH can affect the expression of ovarian follicle development and FSH response-related genes differentially depending on the length of exposure and that levels of ovulatory cascade genes differ in conceived and not-conceived patients' FF stromal cells. Using mass spectrometry analysis, we identified 97 proteins secreted by FF stromal cells. The identified proteins are related to stress response, positive regulation of apoptotic cell clearance and embryo implantation.
不孕症的患病率近年来呈上升趋势。尽管首次生育年龄的增加在经济上更可取，但会导致各种生物问题，从低自然受孕率到不良妊娠结局。全球对辅助生殖技术程序的需求不断增长，引起了医学专家和科学家对各种因素的关注，这些因素可能导致成功受孕，如卵泡液（FF）和激素。在这项研究中，我们分析了暴露于卵泡刺激素（FSH）对因不孕症接受治疗并参与辅助生殖技术程序的女性的 FF 来源基质细胞的影响。我们证明 FF 基质细胞对间充质基质细胞表面标志物（CD90、CD44、CD166）呈阳性，并表明 FSH 对 FF 基质细胞形态没有影响，但会降低增殖率。使用实时聚合酶链反应方法，我们表明在未受孕患者的 FF 沉淀物细胞中， 的表达显著下调；此外，我们表明 FSH 可以根据暴露时间的长短，对卵巢卵泡发育和 FSH 反应相关基因的表达产生不同的影响，并且在受孕和未受孕患者的 FF 基质细胞中，排卵级联基因的水平不同。使用质谱分析，我们鉴定了 FF 基质细胞分泌的 97 种蛋白质。鉴定出的蛋白质与应激反应、凋亡细胞清除的正调节和胚胎植入有关。
