Skip to main content
Log in

The relationship between pregnancy and oxidative stress markers on patients undergoing ovarian stimulations

  • ASSISTED REPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

We investigated the activities and relevance of a validated panel of antioxidant enzymes, cytokines, specific lipid peroxidation end products and six fatty acids by correlational analyses with peak E2 levels and pregnancy outcome after ovarian stimulation for IVF or IUI.

Methods

Blood samples obtained from 15 patients undergoing ovarian stimulation with rFSH or hMG were divided into two groups. Group-1 was baseline blood collected on day-2-3 of women cycle. Group-2 is blood collected at the end of FSH/hMG injection. Serum was collected and stored in liquid nitrogen at -196 °C until analysis. Standard IVF and IUI procedures were followed. The serum levels of Paraoxonase (PON1), Superoxide Dismutases (SOD), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), 8-Isoprostane, and fatty acids Arachidic, Palmitic, Stearic, Oleic, Linoleic & Linolenic were measured.

Results

With the exception of 8-Isoprostane, results showed a positive correlation between baseline and peak levels of E2 and that of SOD, GPx, PON1, and IL-6. The PON1, IL-6 and SOD were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in pregnant than non-pregnant group. Fatty acid levels at baseline and peak E2 were not different but pregnancy rates were found to be decreasing with higher palmitic, and stearic acid levels.

Conclusions

Ovarian stimulation causes a significant increase in serum PON1, SOD, GPx and IL-6 activity in women undergoing IVF or IUI. The high levels of IL-6, SOD, and PON1 and lower levels of palmitic, and stearic acids in the pregnancy positive group indicate that these oxidative stress and nutritional factors may be used as a predictive marker in controlled ovarian stimulation success.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Agarwal A, Gupta S, Sharma R. Oxidative stress and its implications in female infertility—a clinician’s perspective. Reprod BioMed Online. 2005;11:641–50.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Agarwal A, Said TM, Bedaiwy MA, Banerjee J, Alvarez JG. Oxidative stress in an assisted reproductive techniques setting. Fertility Sterility. 2006;86:503–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Chandra A, Surti N, Kesavan S, Agarwal A. Significance of oxidative stress in human reproduction. Arch Med Sci. 2009;5(1A):S28–42.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Marsillach J, Checa MA, Pedro-Botet J, Carreras R, Joven J, Camps J. Paraoxonase-1 in female infertility: a possible role against oxidative stress-induced inflammation. Fertil Steril. 2010;94:1132–4.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Smith SK, Charnock-Jones DS, Sharkey AM. The role of leukemia inhibitory factor and interleukin-6 in human reproduction. Hum Reprod. 1998;13(3):237–43.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bedaiwy MA, Falcone T, Goldberg JM, Attaran M, Miller K, Agarwal A. Assessment of the predictive value of follicular fluid IL-6 in IVF cycles. Fertility Sterility. 2003;80:S96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Oyawoye O, Abdel GA, Garner A, Constantinovici N, Perret C, Hardiman P. Antioxidants and reactive oxygen species in follicular fluid of women undergoing IVF: relationship to outcome. Hum Reprod. 2003;18(11):2270–4.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. McCord JM, Fridovich I. Superoxide dismutase (an enzymic function for erythrocuprein (hemocuprein)). J Biol Chem. 1969;244:6049–55.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Halliwell B, Gutteridge JMC. The antioxidant of human extracellular fluids. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1990;280:1–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Halliwell B, Lee CYJ. Using isoprostanes as biomarkers of oxidative stress: some rarely considered issues. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2010;13:145–56.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Lin K, Barnhart K, Shaunik A, Butts S, Fitzgerald GA, Coutifaris C. Follicular fluid F2-isoprostanes: a novel assessment of oxidative stress in IVF patients. Fertil Steril. 2005;84:S47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Jaichander P, Selvarajan K, Garelnabi M, Parthasarathy S. Induction of paraoxonase 1 and apolipoprotein A-I gene expression by aspirin. J Lipid Res. 2008;49(10):2142–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Eder K. Gas chromatographic analysis of fatty acid methyl esters. J Chromatogr B Biomed Appl. 1995;671(1–2):113–31.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Appasamy M, Jauniaux E, Serhal P, Al-Qahtani A, Groome NP, Muttukrishn S. Evaluation of the relationship between follicular fluid oxidative stress, ovarian hormones, and response to gonadotropin stimulation. Fertil Steril. 2008;89:912–21.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Oral O, Kutlu K, Aksoy E, Fıçıcıoğlu C, Uslu H, Tuğrul S. The effects of oxidative stress on outcomes of assisted reproductive techniques. JARG. 2006;23(2):81–5.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Wiener-Megnazi Z, Vardi L, Lissak A, Shnizer S, Zeev Reznick A, Ishai D, et al. Oxidative stress indices in follicular fluid as measured by the thermo-chemiluminescence assay correlate with outcome parameters in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 2004;82:1171–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Pasqualotto EB, Agarwal A, Sharma RK, Izzo VM, Pinotti JA, Joshi NJ, et al. Effect of oxidative stress in follicular fluid on the outcome of assisted reproductive procedures. Fertil Steril. 2004;81:973–6.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Bedaiwy MA, Elnashar SA, Goldberg JM, Sharma R, Mascha EJ, Arrigain S, Agarwal A, Falcone T. Effect of follicular fluid oxidative stress parameters on intracytoplastnic spertninjection outcotne. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2012;28(1):51–5. Epub 2011 Jun 30.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Aurrekoetxea I, Ruiz-Sanz JI, Agua AR, Navarro R, Hernandez ML, Matorras R, Prieto B, Larrea BR. Serum oxidizability and antioxidant status in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 2010;94:1279–85.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Oyawoye O, Abdel GA, Garner A, Constantinovici N, Perret C, Hardiman P. Antioxidants and reactive oxygen species in follicular fluid of women undergoing IVF: relationship to outcome. Hum Reprod. 2003;18(11):2270–74.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Sharkey AM, Dellow K, Blayney M, et al. Stage-specific expression of cytokine and receptor messenger ribonucleic acids in human preimplantation embryos. Biol Reprod. 1995;53:974–81.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Sabatini L, Wilson C, Lower A, Al-Shawaf T, Grudzinskas JG. Superoxide dismutase activity in human follicular fluid after controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in women undergoing in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 1999;72:1027–34.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Haggarty P, Wood M, Ferguson E, Hoad G, Srikantharajah A, Milne E, Hamilton M, Bhattacharya S. Fatty acid metabolism in human preimplantation embryos. Hum Reprod. 2006;21:766–73.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Mu YM, Yanase T, Nishi Y, Tanaka A, Saito M, Jin CH, Mukasa C, Okabe T, Nomura M, Goto K, et al. Saturated FFAs, palmitic acid and stearic acid, induce apoptosis in human granulosa cells. Endocrinology. 2001;142:3590–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Bender K, Walsh S, Evans AC, Fair T, Brennan L. Metabolite concentrations in follicular fluid may explain differences in fertility between heifers and lactating cows. Reproduction. 2010;139(6):1047–55.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Fujimoto VW, Bloom MS, Huddleston HG, Shelley WB, Ocque AJ, Browne RW. Correlations of follicular fluid oxidative stress biomarkers and enzyme activities with embryo morphology parameters during in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 2011;96:1357–61.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Boomsma CM, Kavelaars A, Marinus JC, Eijkemans MJ, Bart CJM, Fauser MD, et al. Ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization alters the intrauterine cytokine, chemokine, and growth factor milieu encountered by the embryo. Fertil Steril. 2010;94(18):85–94.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Jungheim ES, Macones GA, Odem RR, Patterson BW, Lanzendorf SE, Ratts VS, et al. Associations between free fatty acids, cumulus oocyte complex morphology and ovarian function during in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 2011;95:1970–4.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Jungheim ES, Macones GA, Odem RR, Patterson BW, Moley KH. Elevated serum alpha-linolenic acid levels are associated with decreased chance of pregnancy after in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril. 2011;96(4):880–3.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This work was partially supported by a faculty startup grant from the University of Massachusetts Lowell to M.G.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Abdelmoneim Younis or Mahdi Garelnabi.

Additional information

Capsule

Relationship between Pregnancy & OS markers during Ovarian Stimulations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Younis, A., Clower, C., Nelsen, D. et al. The relationship between pregnancy and oxidative stress markers on patients undergoing ovarian stimulations. J Assist Reprod Genet 29, 1083–1089 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-012-9831-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-012-9831-x

Keywords

Navigation