Follicular Metabolites-Assisted Clinical Evaluation of IVF/ICSI Outcomes

Bing Qu; Yunhe Xiong; Xiaofan Yu; Jinli Ding; Jing Weng; Xinghua Yang; Yanmin Ma; Lingyan Liu; Jing Yang

doi:10.1155/2021/9999659

Follicular Metabolites-Assisted Clinical Evaluation of IVF/ICSI Outcomes

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 May 26:2021:9999659. doi: 10.1155/2021/9999659. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Bing Qu¹, Yunhe Xiong², Xiaofan Yu³, Jinli Ding¹, Jing Weng⁴, Xinghua Yang⁵, Yanmin Ma⁶, Lingyan Liu³, Jing Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ Reproductive Medicine Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
² Urology Department, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
³ School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
⁴ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
⁵ School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
⁶ Beijing Obsterics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

As infertility became a significant public health problem, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) were introduced. However, the fertilization rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) per cycle varied, and patients needed to repeat IVF or change to intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Here, 75 couples suffering from female fallopian tubal blockage (tubal group) and 42 spouses beset by male abnormal sperm status (dysspermia group) were recruited. We comprehensively explored the relationship among couples' clinical factors, follicular metabolites, and IVF/ICSI stepwise outcomes. IVF/ICSI outcomes were affected by follicular metabolites and physical status in both women and men, regardless of which side infertility came from. Particularly, in the tubal group, the energy supporting pathways-glycolysis and pyruvate metabolism-were most essential in follicles, and IVF/ICSI outcomes were also related to sperm parameters. However, in the dysspermia group, in addition to sperm conditions, oocyte quality acted as a compensation for poor sperm quality, for which aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and the related supporting metabolism were critical in the follicular environment, and ultimately played a decisive role in IVF/ICSI outcomes. The respective logistic regression models in combination with selective male sperm parameters, estradiol (E2), follicular alanine, glutamine, glycoprotein, lipid, and acetic acid, were constructed to predict IVF or ICSI outcomes. No matter which sex infertility comes from, factors from both men and women should be considered. The current study provides a feasible option for pre-IVF evaluation, as well as guidance for follow-up clinical intervention to improve IVF/ICSI success rates.