OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of the FSH and LH receptors in human oocytes and preimplantation embryos and their potential roles in early human development. DESIGN: Clinical and molecular studies. SETTING: University hospital IVF center. PATIENT(S): Female volunteers undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection at the IVF unit of the Athens University Hospital. All patients gave written informed consent. INTERVENTION(S): Ovarian stimulation was performed with exogenous gonadotropin administration. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection was performed on mature oocytes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Unfertilized oocytes and zygotes and embryos at the 2-cell, 4-cell, morula, and blastocyst stage were selected for study. A polymerase chain reaction methodology was used to analyze human oocytes and embryos. Messenger RNA was reverse transcribed and amplified with FSH and LH receptor specific primers. RESULT(S): Transcripts for the FSH receptor were detected in oocytes and zygotes and embryos at the 2-cell, morula, and blastocyst stage, while no message was detected in embryos at the 4-cell stage. Transcripts for the LH receptor were observed in oocytes and zygotes and morula- and blastocyst-stage embryos, whereas no message was detected in embryos at the 2-cell and 4-cell stage. CONCLUSION(S): Messenger RNA for the FSH and LH receptors was observed in oocytes and preimplantation embryos at different stages, indicating a physiological role in the oocyte maturation process and early embryonic development in the human.
OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of the FSH and LH receptors in human oocytes and preimplantation embryos and their potential roles in early human development. DESIGN: Clinical and molecular studies. SETTING: University hospital IVF center. PATIENT(S): Female volunteers undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection at the IVF unit of the Athens University Hospital. All patients gave written informed consent. INTERVENTION(S): Ovarian stimulation was performed with exogenous gonadotropin administration. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection was performed on mature oocytes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Unfertilized oocytes and zygotes and embryos at the 2-cell, 4-cell, morula, and blastocyst stage were selected for study. A polymerase chain reaction methodology was used to analyze human oocytes and embryos. Messenger RNA was reverse transcribed and amplified with FSH and LH receptor specific primers. RESULT(S): Transcripts for the FSH receptor were detected in oocytes and zygotes and embryos at the 2-cell, morula, and blastocyst stage, while no message was detected in embryos at the 4-cell stage. Transcripts for the LH receptor were observed in oocytes and zygotes and morula- and blastocyst-stage embryos, whereas no message was detected in embryos at the 2-cell and 4-cell stage. CONCLUSION(S): Messenger RNA for the FSH and LH receptors was observed in oocytes and preimplantation embryos at different stages, indicating a physiological role in the oocyte maturation process and early embryonic development in the human.
Authors: Matthew S Bramble; Ellen H Goldstein; Allen Lipson; Tuck Ngun; Ascia Eskin; Jason E Gosschalk; Lara Roach; Neerja Vashist; Hayk Barseghyan; Eric Lee; Valerie A Arboleda; Daniel Vaiman; Zafer Yuksel; Marc Fellous; Eric Vilain Journal: Hum Reprod Date: 2016-02-23 Impact factor: 6.918