- Title:
- Oocyte quality is decreased in women with minimal or mild endometriosis
- Journal:
- Scientific Reports 5, Article number: 10779
- Author(s):
- Xu B1, Guo N1, Zhang XM1, Shi W1, Tong XH1, Iqbal F2, Liu YS1.
- Author(s) affiliation:
- 1Center for Reproductive Medicine, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230001, China.
2Institute of Pure and Applied Biology. Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, 60800, Pakistan.
- Short description:
- Endometriosis is a disorder of the female reproductive system in which the endometrium (uterine lining) grows outside the uterus; it is most commonly occurs on the ovaries and peritoneum, and it causes premenstrual pain and dysmenorrhea. The main symptoms of the disease are pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia1. Endometriosis is one of the most common causes of infertility and is diagnosed in 25–40% of infertile women, although the mechanisms by which endometriosis impairs fertility remain largely unknown. The evidence-based therapies for endometriosis include medical and surgical treatments. Therapeutic laparoscopy and assisted reproductive techniques are the preferred approach for treating infertile patients with advanced endometriosis. In recent years, a substantial number of patients with endometriosis have undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) because the technology of IVF offers a promising alternative to conventional medical or surgical therapies for refractory infertility associated with endometriosis.
- Link to the journal
Abstract taken from PubMed
- Abstract:
- Endometriosis, a pathological condition in which the endometrium grows outside the uterus, is one of the most common causes of female infertility; it is diagnosed in 25-40% of infertile women. The mechanism by which endometriosis affects the fertility of females remains largely unknown. We examined the ultrastructure of oocytes from patients with minimal or mild endometriosis and control females undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to investigate the physiological significance of oocyte quality for patients with minimal or mild endometriosis. The TEM results revealed that the oocytes from women with minimal or mild endometriosis exhibited abnormal mitochondrial structure and decreased mitochondria mass. Quantitative real time PCR analysis revealed that the mitochondrial DNA copy number was significantly reduced in the oocytes from women with minimal or mild endometriosis compared with those of the control subjects. Our results suggest that decreased oocyte quality because of impaired mitochondrial structure and functions probably an important factor affecting the fertility of endometriosis patients.
- Link to the paper on PubMed
