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Abstract
BackgroundThe status characterized by the imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants molecules, defined as oxidative stress, has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of subfertility in females. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a complete micronutrients supplementation on oxidative stress levels in follicular microenvironment as well as on in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome.MethodsThis preliminary study was conducted between January 2014 and July 2015 at the Siena University Hospital Infertility Clinic. Serum and follicular fluid were collected from infertile women aged > 39 years who underwent two in vitro fertilization cycles: in the first cycle they were treated with GnRH-antagonist protocol and gonadotropins for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, whereas in the second cycle ovarian stimulation protocol was associated to micronutrients supplementation, starting three months earlier. Protein oxidation levels and total antioxidant capacity in serum and in follicular fluid were evaluated in IVF cycles with or without micronutrients supplementation. Differences in IVF outcome parameters were statistically evaluated.ResultsTwo-dimensional electrophoresis analyses demonstrated that when patients assumed micronutrients before IVF cycles, follicular fluid and serum proteins were protected from oxidative damage. Comparable results were obtained when total antioxidant capacity was measured. Moreover, the mean number of good quality oocytes retrieved when patients received micronutrients supplementation was significantly increased.ConclusionThe additional treatment with micronutrients, starting three months before IVF cycles, protects the follicular microenvironment from oxidative stress, thus increasing the number of good quality oocytes recovered at the pick up.
Highlights
The status characterized by the imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants molecules, defined as oxidative stress, has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of subfertility in females
By means of the FRAP assay we measured total antioxidant capacity showing a significant increase in TAC both in follicular fluid and in serum of women treated with micronutrient supplementation (Fig. 1)
In the treated group, we registered a total of 3 ongoing pregnancies, which represent an encouraging results in aged women undergoing to in vitro fertilization (IVF)
Summary
The status characterized by the imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants molecules, defined as oxidative stress, has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of subfertility in females. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a complete micronutrients supplementation on oxidative stress levels in follicular microenvironment as well as on in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome. Recent studies on the pathophysiology of couple’s infertility have shown that oxidative stress (OS) may be one of the causative factors of female infertility [1,2,3]. Oxidative reactions may completely alter physical/chemical properties of proteins by proteolysis, structural modifications, aberrant combinations, oxidation of the side chains of amino acids [8]. The oxidation of the -R groups of amino acids, cause the variation of the isoelectric point, whereas the formation of intramolecular bonds and/or protein cleavage into peptide fragments induces alteration of the molecular weight [9,10,11,12]. Proteins having in their backbone cysteine and methionine, sulfur-containing amino acids, are more susceptible to the attack of ROS, since thiols may undergo reversible oxidization [11, 13]
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