Versican expression level in cumulus cells is associated with human oocyte developmental competence

Abstract

To study the relationship between the expression of 10 selected genes in cumulus cells and the corresponding oocyte development competence, and the effect of patient age and body mass index on gene expression of cumulus cells, we collected 354 cumulus cell masses associated with individual oocyte from 48 women. The expression levels of the genes involved in glucose metabolism (PFKP, PKM2, LDHA and GFPT) and expansion (HAS2, VCAN, TNFAIP6, PTGS2, PTX3 and SDC4) in cumulus cells were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. These were compared among oocyte maturity, fertilization, embryo morphology and implantation, and analyzed the effect of the subject's age and body mass index. Cumulus cell PFKP expression from mature oocytes was higher than those from immature oocytes (P = 0.014), and VCAN expression was higher from oocytes that developed into high-quality embryos (P = 0.024). TNFAIP6 expression in cumulus cells from fertilized oocytes was lower than that from unfertilized oocytes (P = 0.044). The levels of VCAN, TNFAIP6, PTX3 and SDC4 were changed significantly as a function of the subject's age and body mass index. In conclusion, the level of VCAN expression in cumulus cells is positively correlated with the early embryo morphology score, and with further development could perhaps be used to evaluate oocyte developmental competence to complement embryonic morphological assessment.

Differential Transcript Profiles in Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes Originating from Pre-Ovulatory Follicles of Varied Physiological Maturity in Beef Cows

“…VCAN was upregulated in cumulus cells from large follicles compared to small follicles in the present study. An increase in VCAN expression in human cumulus cells was positively associated with early embryo morphology score [58] and embryo quality [70]. In rodents, cumulus expansion is reported to affect oocyte maturation [71] and fertilization [72]; however, in cattle this relationship is less clear.…”

“…Bovine oocytes have very low phosphofructokinase (PFKP) activity, which is the rate limiting enzyme in glycolysis [8]. Cumulus cells have greater PFKP expression than oocytes [8] and expression of PFKP was greater in cumulus cells surrounding mature versus immature human oocytes [58]. Supplementation of denuded bovine oocytes, in vitro, with pyruvate and lactate plus NAD+ promoted oocyte maturation [59].…”

Prognostic value of oocyte quality in assisted reproductive technology outcomes: a systematic review

“…In the last decade, we identified 13 articles using microarray analyses, qRT-PCR, and metabolomics or proteomics to identify novel biomarkers in cumulus cells, granulosa cells, and follicular fluid as potential prognosticators of oocyte reproductive potential (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52).…”

“…Cumulus cells: gene expression and biomarkers. We identified 5 cohort studies exploring gene expression in cumulus cells as prognostic indicators of IVF outcomes, including 2 retrospective (40, 41) and 3 prospective studies (45,46,49).…”

Up-Regulation of VCAN Promotes the Proliferation, Invasion and Migration of HCC and Serves as a Biomarker

“…including axonal outcome, central nervous mechanism injury, hair follicle circulation, tendon remodeling and atherosclerotic vascular disease (8,9). However, the detailed function and molecular mechanism of VCAN in HCC are still unclear.Therefore, in this study, we studied the expression, molecular mechanism and clinical correlation of VCAN in HCC.…”