Reproductive and Genetic Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230001, China.
Reprod Sci. 2024 Jan;31(1):199-211. doi: 10.1007/s43032-023-01293-x. Epub 2023 Aug 22.
Embryo selection is a key point of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The most commonly used method for embryo selection is morphological assessment. However, it is sometimes inaccurate. Follicular fluid (FF) contains a complex mixture of proteins that are essential for follicle development and oocyte maturation. Analyzing human FF proteomic profiles and identifying predictive biomarkers might be helpful for evaluating embryo quality. A total of 22 human FF samples were collected from 19 infertile women who underwent IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment between October 2021 and November 2021. FFs were grouped into two categories on the basis of the day 3 embryo quality, grade I or II in the hqFF group and grade III in the nhqFF group. FF was analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The key differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were validated by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Differentially expressed proteins were further analyzed using DAVID software. A total of 558 proteins were identified, of which 50 proteins were differentially expressed in the hqFF versus nhqFF group, including 32 upregulated proteins (> 1.20-fold, P < 0.05) and 18 downregulated proteins (< 0.67-fold, P < 0.05). Bioinformatics analyses showed that the upregulated DEPs were enriched in components of the coagulation and complement systems and negative regulation of peptidase activity, while the downregulated DEPs were enriched in molecular function of extracellular matrix structural and constituent collagen binding. Our results suggested that a number of protein biomarkers in FF were associated with embryo quality. It may help develop an effective and noninvasive method for embryo selection.
胚胎选择是体外受精（IVF）的关键点。胚胎选择最常用的方法是形态评估。然而，它有时并不准确。卵泡液（FF）包含了对卵泡发育和卵母细胞成熟至关重要的复杂蛋白质混合物。分析人类 FF 蛋白质组图谱并识别预测生物标志物可能有助于评估胚胎质量。总共从 19 名接受 IVF/胞浆内精子注射（ICSI）治疗的不孕妇女中收集了 22 个人类 FF 样本，这些妇女于 2021 年 10 月至 2021 年 11 月之间接受了治疗。根据第 3 天胚胎质量，FF 被分为两个组，hqFF 组为 I 级或 II 级，nhqFF 组为 III 级。通过液相色谱-串联质谱（LC/MS/MS）分析 FF。通过平行反应监测（PRM）和酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）验证关键差异表达蛋白（DEPs）。使用 DAVID 软件进一步分析差异表达蛋白。总共鉴定了 558 种蛋白质，其中 50 种蛋白质在 hqFF 与 nhqFF 组之间差异表达，包括 32 种上调蛋白（>1.20 倍，P<0.05）和 18 种下调蛋白（<0.67 倍，P<0.05）。生物信息学分析表明，上调的 DEPs 富集于凝血和补体系统成分以及肽酶活性的负调控，而下调的 DEPs 富集于细胞外基质结构和组成胶原蛋白结合的分子功能。我们的结果表明，FF 中的一些蛋白质生物标志物与胚胎质量有关。它可能有助于开发一种有效和非侵入性的胚胎选择方法。
