Lipid profiling of follicular fluid and blood plasma as a method of predicting pregnancy in women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment

Fortygina Yu.A., Drapkina Yu.S., Makarova N.P., Kulakova E.V., Sysoeva A.P., Yushina M.N., Eldarov Ch.M., Chagovets V.V., Frankevich V.E., Kalinina E.A.

Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Centre for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia

Background: Modifications of infertility treatment protocols in assisted reproductive technology (ART) programs based on the clinical and laboratory history of couples still have limitations in predicting their effectiveness. The search for minimally invasive markers of gamete quality and markers of the effectiveness of ART treatment is a relevant area at this stage of development of reproductive medicine.
Objective: To create a model for predicting pregnancy on the basis of the lipid profile of blood plasma and follicular fluid in patients undergoing ART treatment by means of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.
Materials and methods: The present study analyzed the clinical and anamnestic characteristics, as well as the lipid profile, of couples undergoing infertility treatment with standard ovarian stimulation in the ART department. Follicular fluid and blood plasma sampling followed by cryopreservation was performed on the day of puncture. The lipid composition of biological fluids was studied using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The lipid profile of the samples underwent analysis to develop OPLS-DA models.
Results: The study revealed statistically significant differences in the composition of follicular fluid and blood plasma depending on the outcome of the treatment in patients who had assisted reproduction. ROC curve analysis of the developed models showed that the model based on plasma lipid composition was more effective than the model based on follicular fluid (AUC=0.97, AUC=0.91, respectively).
Conclusion: The data of the present study are consistent with the results of world studies and confirm the potential of using the lipid composition of follicular fluid and blood plasma as markers of the effectiveness of ART programs.

Authors’ contributions: Makarova N.P., Chagovets V.V., Kalinina E.A. – developing the concept and design of the study; Sysoeva A.P., Fortygina Yu.A., Yushina M.N., Eldarov Ch.M., Chagovets V.V. – collecting and processing of the material, statistical processing of the data; Fortygina Yu.A., Drapkina Yu.S. – writing the text of the article; Kalinina E.A., Makarova N.P. Eldarov Ch.M., Kulakova E.V., Frankevich V.E. – editing the article.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Funding: The study was carried out without sponsorship.
Ethical Approval: The study was approved by the Ethical Review Board of the Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia.
Patient Consent for Publication: The patients signed informed consent for the publication of their data.
Authors' Data Sharing Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author after approval from the principal investigator.
For citation: Fortygina Yu.A., Drapkina Yu.S., Makarova N.P., Kulakova E.V., Sysoeva A.P., Yushina M.N., 
Eldarov Ch.M., Chagovets V.V., Frankevich V.E., Kalinina E.A. Lipid profiling of follicular fluid and 
blood plasma as a method of predicting pregnancy in women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment. 
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2024; (12): 60-69 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2024.105

Keywords

assisted reproductive technologies
ART
infertility
lipids
follicular fluid
blood plasma
pregnancy rate
mass spectrometry

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Received 08.08.2024

Accepted 20.08.2024

About the Authors

Yulia A. Fortygina, PhD student, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, yu_fortygina@oparina4.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1251-0505
Yulia S. Drapkina, PhD, Researcher at the Department of IVF named after Professor B.V. Leonov, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, yu_drapkina@oparina4.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0545-1607
Natalya P. Makarova, PhD, Leading Researcher at the Department of IVF named after Professor B.V. Leonov, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, np_makarova@oparina4.ru,
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1396-7272
Elena V. Kulakova, Dr. Med. Sci., Senior Researcher at the Department of IVF named after Professor B.V. Leonov, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, E-mail: e_kulakova@oparina4.ru,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4433-4163
Anastasiia P. Sysoeva, PhD, Embryologist at the Department of IVF named after Professor B.V. Leonov, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, sysoeva.a.p@gmail.com,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6502-4498
Marina N. Yushina, Junior Researcher at the Laboratory of Metabolomics and Bioinformatics, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, gmarinanikolaevna@gmail.com
Chupalav M. Eldarov, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Metabolomics and Bioinformatics, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, chup4lav@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4027-6469
Vitaly V. Chagovets, PhD (in Physics and Mathematics), Head of the Laboratory of Metabolomics and Bioinformatics, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, vvchagovets@gmail.com,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5120-376X
Vladimir E. Frankevich, Dr. Sci. (in Physics and Mathematics), Head of the Department for Systems Biology in Human Reproduction, Academician V.I. Kulakov National
Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, v_frankevich@oparina4.ru,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9780-4579
Elena A. Kalinina, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Head of the Department of IVF named after Professor B.V. Leonov, Academician V.I. Kulakov National Medical Research Center
for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of Russia, 117997, Russia, Moscow, Ac. Oparin str., 4, e_kalinina@oparina4.ru,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8922-2878

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