Correlations between steroids concentration in follicular fluid, pronuclear morphology and embryo qualities in in vitro fertilization

Abstract

Background: Several parameters of early embryo development are known as predictors of implantation success. Recently, zygote or embryo morphological assessments are thought to be a major method of selection in embryo transfer. We expected that the concentrations of the steroids in follicular fluid (FF) were associated with oocyte maturation and embryo quality. In the present paper, we evaluated the relationship of several parameters. Methods:We investigated 105 samples of FF from 22 subjects by in vitro fertilization (IVF). We evaluated the correlations between the FF concentrations of estradiol (E 2 ) and progesterone (P 4 ), the diameter of the ovarian follicles, fertilization, and zygote assessment based on pronuclear morphology and day 3 embryo qualities (i.e. number of blastomeres and fragmentation rate).Results: There was a positive correlation between the E 2 concentrations in FF and serum (r = 0.273, P < 0.01), but there was no correlation between follicular diameter and the FF concentration of each steroid. The concentration of E 2 in FF containing fertilized oocytes was not significantly different from that in FF containing unfertilized oocytes. At the pronuclear stage, the concentration of either steroid in FF did not differ among the morphological groups. The concentration of P 4 in FF was significantly lower in the group in which pronuclei were detected at 20 h after insemination than in the group in which pronuclei were not detected. The concentration of E 2 in FF was significantly related to the number of blastomeres (r = 0.271, P < 0.05) and furthermore, was significantly higher in FF from which morphologically good embryos were obtained at day 3 (P < 0.05). Conclusions:The FF concentrations of the steroids did not affect the pronuclear pattern, but P 4 production may play a role in reducing the potential of the oocyte to develop pronuclei and the concentration of E 2 may predict the cleavage capability of the oocyte. (Reprod Med Biol 2003; 2: 171-176)

Serum steroids concentration might be used for monitoring the growth of follicles in friendly in vitro fertilization

“…It has been reported that progesterone/estradiol ratios were higher in the follicles of which oocytes were fertilized 1 and these higher progesterone values were associated with the oocyte's fertilization capacity by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) 2 . In contrast, our previous study found that there was no difference in the FF steroid concentrations between the fertilized group and unfertilized group 3 …”

Estradiol Regulates mRNA Levels of Estrogen Receptor Beta 4 and Beta 5 Isoforms and Modulates Human Granulosa Cell Apoptosis

“…To further assess whether E2 can promote biological activities in hGCs, we first ascertained that endogenous ERs were able to transactivate an estrogen reporter construct in these cells. For this purpose, cultured hGCs from follicles of 14 patients were transfected with an ERE-Luc or a control (pGL2) vector to measure their luciferase activity with 10 nM E2 treatment during 24 h. We chose this concentration to reproduce the intrafollicular concentration measured in follicular fluids of antral follicles [ 21 , 22 ]. In hGCs transfected with the ERE-Luc, pairwise comparison of vehicle (V, solvent) and E2-treated hGCs from each patient showed that E2 stimulated by 3.2-fold ( p < 0.001) the ERE-dependent luciferase activity ( Figure 2 ).…”

Localization and gene expression of steroid sulfatase by RT-PCR in cumulus cells and relationship to serum FSH levels observed during in vitro fertilization

“…The follicular fluid concentration of progesterone in mature COC was significantly higher than that in the immature stage [13]. It has been suggested that steroid concentrations in the follicular fluid are associated with oocyte maturation and embryo quality [14-16]. …”