Differential profile of gene expression in cumulus cells of infertile women with and without endometriosis who underwent ovarian stimulation

Abstract

A possible deleterious effect of endometriosis on oocyte quality (OQ) is questioned. Human oocytes are extremely rare and their use in invasive studies, make their use in assisted reproduction procedures impossible. Thus, the identification of non-invasive biomarkers capable of predicting the OQ, as cumulus cells (CCs), is highly desirable. The analysis of gene expression profile and microRNA in CCs could bring valuable information about deregulated pathways involved in infertility related to endometriosis, whose understanding will facilitate the investigation of its role in the gestational prognosis and design of the studies for therapeutic intervention. Objectives: Determine the set of mRNAs expressed (transcribed profile) in CCs of infertile women with and without endometriosis (stages I / II and stages III / IV, with and without endometriosis) undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation for ICSI, by next-generation sequencing; and compare the profile of transcripts between the groups proposed. After the identification of differentially expressed genes, we will identify which pathways are involved in these altered genes and correlate with disease and infertility, performing validation of the most promising genes by RT-PCR. Methodology: In the study we will analyze the CCs of 4 of patients: 1 group control, 1 group with endometriosis I / II, 1 group with endometriosis III / IV (with endometrioma) and 1 group with endometriosis III / IV (without endometrioma). All patients will be subjected to the EOC to perform ICSI. Immediately after oocyte retrieval, the CCs are isolated and stored for the next-generation sequencing (RNA-Seq), moreover, analyzes of the expression of the selected target genes by real-time PCR will be performed. (AU)