Follicular fluid lipidomic profiling reveals potential biomarkers of polycystic ovary syndrome: A pilot study

Ying Ding; Yihong Jiang; Mingjiang Zhu; Qinling Zhu; Yaqiong He; Yao Lu; Yuan Wang; Jia Qi; Yifan Feng; Rong Huang; Huiyong Yin; Shengxian Li; Yun Sun

doi:10.3389/fendo.2022.960274

Follicular fluid lipidomic profiling reveals potential biomarkers of polycystic ovary syndrome: A pilot study

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Sep 13:13:960274. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.960274. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ying Ding^{1

2}, Yihong Jiang³, Mingjiang Zhu⁴, Qinling Zhu^{1

2}, Yaqiong He^{1

2}, Yao Lu^{1

2}, Yuan Wang^{1

2}, Jia Qi^{1

2}, Yifan Feng³, Rong Huang³, Huiyong Yin⁴, Shengxian Li³, Yun Sun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Reproductive Medicine, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive Genetics, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Nutrition, Metabolism and Food Safety, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder associated with multiple metabolic conditions including obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. PCOS is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility; however, the molecular diversity of the ovarian follicle microenvironment is not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the follicular fluid (FF) lipidomic profiles in different phenotypes of PCOS and to explore novel lipid biomarkers.

Methods: A total of 25 women with PCOS and 12 women without PCOS who underwent in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer were recruited, and their FF samples were collected for the lipidomic study. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to compare the differential abundance of FF lipids between patients with different PCOS phenotypes and controls. Subsequently, correlations between specific lipid concentrations in FF and high-quality embryo rate (HQER) were analyzed to further evaluate the potential interferences of lipid levels with oocyte quality in PCOS. Candidate biomarkers were then compared via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results: In total, 19 lipids were identified in ovarian FF. Of these, the concentrations of ceramide (Cer) and free fatty acids (FFA) in FF were significantly increased, whereas those of lysophosphatidylglycerol (LPG) were reduced in women with PCOS compared to controls, especially in obese and insulin-resistant groups. In addition, six subclasses of ceramide, FFA, and LPG were correlated with oocyte quality. Twenty-three lipid subclasses were identified as potential biomarkers of PCOS, and ROC analysis indicated the prognostic value of Cer,36:1;2, FFA C14:1, and LPG,18:0 on HQER in patients with PCOS.

Conclusions: Our study showed the unique lipidomic profiles in FF from women with PCOS. Moreover, it provided metabolic signatures as well as candidate biomarkers that help to better understand the pathogenesis of PCOS.

Keywords: follicular fluid; lipidomics; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; oocyte quality; polycystic ovary syndrome.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biomarkers / analysis
Ceramides / metabolism
Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / metabolism
Female
Follicular Fluid / metabolism
Humans
Insulins*
Lipidomics
Pilot Projects
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome* / metabolism
Tumor Microenvironment

Substances

Biomarkers
Ceramides
Fatty Acids, Nonesterified
Insulins