Novel SWATHTM technology for follicular fluid metabolomics in patients with endometriosis

AIM OF THE STUDY: Sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment-ion spectra (SWATHTM), a powerful high-resolution mass spectrometric data independent acquisition technique, was used to identify differences that relate certain metabolites to endometriosis (EMT) in follicular fluid collected from EMT patients and a control group. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted to analyze the EMT-related metabolites and the IVF clinical data of 33 subjects. Subjects were divided between the observation group (17 cases, infertility due to EMT) and the control group (16 cases, infertility due to male factor, such as obstructive azoospermia). RESULTS: Analysis revealed three metabolites including phytosphingosine, LysoPC(18:2(9Z,12Z)) and LysoPC(18:0), which were closely related to infertility associated withEMT. In the EMT group, LysoPC(18:2(9Z,12Z)) and LysoPC(18:0) were upregulated, while phytosphingosine was downregulated. CONCLUSIONS: This study employed, for the first time, the SWATHTM data acquisition mode for the metabolomics study of human follicular fluid in patients with EMT. The differential metabolite profiles of follicular fluid were identified and mapped. These differential metabolites are involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis, energy metabolism, inflammatory responses and angiogenesis. The differential metabolite profile may be a new tool for early noninvasive assessment of the developmental potential of oocytes in patients with EMT.