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Expression of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins in granulosa cells of women with diminished ovarian reserve

  • Reproductive Physiology and Disease
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the expressions of caspase-3 and cytochrome c and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in granulosa cells (GCs) from women with normal ovarian reserve (NOR) and diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Methods

GCs were collected from 117 infertile women during oocyte retrieval. Patients were classified into four groups as follows: DOR-COC score of 0, DOR-COC score of I, NOR-COC score of 0, and NOR-COC score of I. The caspase-3, cytochrome c, and Hsp70 analyses were performed immunohistochemically in GCs. The ICSI outcomes were evaluated prospectively.

Results

The clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were higher in DOR-COC score of I (15, 30.6%; 14, 38.9%) and NOR-COC score of I (19, 38.77%; 19, 52.7%) groups, compared with DOR-COC score of 0 (12, 24.4%; 3, 6.1%) and NOR-COC score of 0 (3, 6.1%; 0%) groups (p = 0.0001; 0.00002), respectively. Caspase-3 and cytochrome c expression levels were higher in DOR-COC score of 0 (23, 65.7%; 25, 71.4%) and NOR-COC score of 0 groups (19, 61.3%; 20, 64.5%), compared with DOR-COC score of I (8, 32%; 9, 36%) and NOR-COC score of I groups (7, 26.9%; 8, 30.8%) (p = 0.00297; p = 0.002), respectively. Lower expression levels of Hsp70 were found in DOR-COC score of 0 (11, 31.4%) and NOR-COC score of 0 groups (10, 32.3%), compared with DOR-COC score of I (16, 64%) and NOR-COC score of I groups (20, 76.9%) (p = 0.001), respectively. Hsp70 expression levels were positively correlated with the number of day 3 good-quality embryo and negatively correlated with estradiol levels in the DOR group.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that COC score of 0 is associated with increased expression levels of apoptotic proteins, decreased expression levels of anti-apoptotic protein, and poor ICSI clinical outcomes in women with and without DOR.

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Funding

This study was funded by the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology School of Medicine, IVF Unit, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, TR, 34452

    Sibel Bulgurcuoglu Kuran & Burcin Karamustafaoglu Balci

  2. Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical Faculty, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ayse Altun & Ilknur Keskin

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Goztepe Prof. Dr. Suleyman Yalcin City Hospital Affiliated To Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Meryem Hocaoglu

Authors
  1. Sibel Bulgurcuoglu Kuran
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  2. Ayse Altun
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  3. Burcin Karamustafaoglu Balci
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  4. Ilknur Keskin
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  5. Meryem Hocaoglu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sibel Bulgurcuoglu Kuran.

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Ethics approval

Ethical approval for the present study was obtained from Ethics Committee of Istanbul Medipol University (E-10840098–772.02–1134). All participants wrote and signed informed consent the start of the investigation. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Bulgurcuoglu Kuran, S., Altun, A., Karamustafaoglu Balci, B. et al. Expression of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins in granulosa cells of women with diminished ovarian reserve. J Assist Reprod Genet 39, 765–775 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02422-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02422-2

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