Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinological disorder associated with abdominal obesity (AO) and some reproductive complications including low pregnancy rate. Embryo-endometrium cross-talk has a key role in successful embryo implantation and subsequent normal pregnancy rate. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the decidualization potential of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) using the embryo condition media (ECM) collected from PCOS patients with AO, compared to ECM of those patients without AO.
In this experimental study, we measured the capacity of ECM collected from PCOS patients with or without AO for decidualization induction in healthy ESCs after coculture. A total number of 53 embryos from 40 couples belonging to PCOS with AO, PCOS without AO, nonPCOS with AO, and nonPCOS without AO patients, were included in our study. The embryosof four groups were single-cultured up to the blastocyst stage. Their ECM (45λ/well) were pooled and added to healthy ESCs monolayer culture media to investigate their effects on decidualization potential via gene () and protein (PRL, IGFBP1, IL1-β) expression analysis and ESCs migration assay.
The morphological analysis, migration assay (P≤0.0321), protein (P≤0.0139) and gene expression analysis showed PCOS with AO accounted for the highest gene (PRL, IGFBP1, IL1-β, HOXA10, IL-6, TNF-α) and protein markers (PRL, IGFBP1, IL1-β) (P≤0.05). NonPCOS individuals without AO had the lowest level of both gene and protein decidualization markers (P≤0.05).
Considering decidualization as an inflammatory process, a higher level of decidualization markers was associated with a higher inflammatory status created by AO and PCOS, separately. Inflammation may disrupt the process of inflammatory to anti-inflammatory phase required for prevention of pregnancy loss, this could explain the high rate of abortion in these cases.