Serum concentration of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) is not linked to serum anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) level

Osamu Yoshino

doi:10.15761/imm.1000107

Abstract

Serum concentration of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is used as a biomarker in practical clinics. As bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) cytokines induce AMH expression in human granulosa cells (GC) in vitro, serum concentrations of BMP cytokines and AMH were evaluated whether there would be a relationship between BMP cytokines and AMH. Serum concentrations of BMP-2, -6 -7, AMH and FSH were measured in 25 infertility patients using EIA or ELISA kits. Among 25 infertile patients, serum BMP-2, -6, and -7 were detected only in 10, 3, 7 patients respectively, while AMH was detected in 24 out of 25 patients. There was no relation between BMP cytokines and AMH concentration in serum. The detection rate of these BMPs in serum was much lower than that of AMH. Serum concentration of BMP-2, -6, -7 could not estimate serum AMH level.

Highlights

In infertility treatments, the precise assessment of ovarian reserve is necessary to plan a treatment strategy for each patient
As serum concentration of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) which is derived from granulosa cells (GC), is considered an excellent biomarker in practical clinics [1,2], it is important to elucidate the mechanism by which AMH is regulated in GC
We have reported that bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2, -6, -7 contribute to folliculogenesis by inducing FSH receptor and suppressing LH receptor expression in human GC [4,10,14]

Summary

Introduction

The precise assessment of ovarian reserve is necessary to plan a treatment strategy for each patient. Among all available markers of ovarian reserve, much interest has been given to anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) as a reliable, accurate and reproducible predictor [1,2]. We found that bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2, 6, 7 and 15 increased the expression of AMH in human GC [4,5]. BMP cytokines which are member of TGF-β superfamily, are known to regulate ovarian physiology; including gonadogenesis [6,7], folliculogenesis, ovulation and luteinization in various species [8]. Given that BMP cytokines regulate ovarian function, including AMH expression, serum concentrations of BMP cytokines could be a useful marker for the ovarian function. We validated the hypothesis whether the measurement of the BMP cytokines in serum could be a predictor for ovarian reserve

Materials and methods

Result

Findings

Discussion