Preliminary screening of metabolites of follicular fluid in endometriosis-related infertility and its relationship with oocyte quality

Objective To investigate metabolites associated with oocyte developmental potential in infertile patients with endometriosis (EMS). Methods The metabolic analysis of follicular fluid was performed on 27 EMS-related infertility patients receiving in vitro fertilization (observation group) and 28 healthy women who underwent IVF due to male factor (control group) by ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Results There were 28 metabolites, which were closely related to infertility associated with EMS. They were divided into four categories, including lipids, nucleotides, protein degradation fragments and the others. Fifteen metabolites such as Valyl-Arginine, Methyl-15-cyanopentadecanoate and 4-Oxo-13-cis-retinoate were up-regulated; Menadiol dibutyrate, 3-hydroxy pentanoyl carnitine, Phytosphingosine and other 13 metabolites were down-regulated. Conclusions In this study, we found and mapped the differential metabolite profiles of follicular fluid in the two groups, which may be an important biomarker for predicting the early developmental potential of EMS women oocytes. However, we did not find a significant correlation between subsequent embryonic quality, cumulative pregnancy rate and live birth rate. Key words: Endometriosis; Infertility; Follicular fluid metabolomics; Oocyte quality