Potential biomarkers for clinical outcomes of IVF cycles in women with/without PCOS: Searching with metabolomics.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrinological and metabolic disorder which is the common cause of female infertility. The dysmetabolism displayed in it has not been completely ascertained. Metabonomics may shed light on understanding many small molecule endogenous metabolites and their associated metabolic pathways. Objective: To analyze the different metabolites and related metabolic pathways in follicular fluid and embryo culture fluid of PCOS and non-PCOS groups. Finding markers predictable for clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment. Population and sample: 60 women who underwent IVF-ET were selected, including 30 with PCOS and 30 with the fallopian tubal issues only. We collected the first tube follicular fluid (FF) of all patients at the time of oocyte pick up and the waste embryo culture medium (ECM) after D3 high-quality embryo transplant. Methods: All samples were performed nontargeted Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-QE-MS) analysis. Related metabolic pathways were screened by KEGG annotation. To search potential indicators, the logistic regression was made combined with clinical data. Mean outcome measures: Predictive performance of markers of clinical outcomes (pregnancy rate, delivery rate, live birth rate, miscarriage rate) of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Results: Comparing the PCOS group against the non-PCOS group, we found 11 significantly different metabolites in the FF and 56 in the ECM. There are a total of 11 kinds of biomarkers associated with clinical outcomes. Androsterone sulfate, Glycerophosphocholine, and Elaidic carnitine seem robust to predict the abortion rate of the PCOS group, with an AUC of 0.941, 0.933, 0.933, respectively. The glycerol phospholipid metabolic pathway is enriched in both the follicular fluid and embryo culture fluid. Conclusions: The differential metabolites were mainly a variety of lipids. Some of them can predict clinical outcomes to a certain extent.

[Characteristics of Iron Plaque and Its Heavy Metal Enrichment in Typical Mangrove Plants in Shenzhen Bay, China].

Based on the five typical mangrove species in the mangrove wetland of Shenzhen Bay, the contents and distributional characteristics of iron plaques (Fe) and the Mn, Pb, Zn, Cu, As, Cr, Cd, Ni, Co, and Sb enrichment of the iron plaques on mangrove plant roots were investigated. The results show that:① There is a significant difference in the contents of iron plaques among the five mangrove species, and the contents in the species follow the order:Acanthus ilicifolius > Aeagiceras corniculatum > Bruguiera gymnorrhiza > Kandelia obovate > Heritiera littorlis; the content ranged from 0.37 g·kg-1 to 10.81 g·kg-1. ② Iron plaques have a certain enrichment effect on the heavy metals in the sediments. The contents of heavy metals in the iron plaques vary with the plant species, being the highest in A. ilicifolius and the lowest in H. littorlis. This enrichment also varies with the element species:Mn content changed from 0.11 g·kg-1 to 2.67 g·kg-1; the highest contents of Pb, Zn, Cu, As, and Cr changed from 117.44 mg·kg-1 to 189.69 mg·kg-1; and the highest contents of Cd, Ni, Co. and Sb changed from 34.84 mg·kg-1 to 63.34 mg·kg-1. The content of Zn in the iron plaque is negatively correlated with the other heavy metal contents (P<0.001), indicating that Zn might compete with the other elements. ③ Sediment pH significantly affects the content of iron plaque and the accumulation of Mn in the iron plaque (P<0.05). The water content and salinity of the sediments are positively correlated with the contents of heavy metals Cr and Co in the iron plaque (P<0.05). ④ The distribution of iron plaques and their heavy metal contents in different parts of the roots of the mangrove plants follow the order:root tip > root middle > root base.