title: Early protein profile of human embryonic secretome.
abstract: Embryos obtained by in vitro fertilization are currently assessed by morphology, but displays limitations with over 70% of embryos failing to implant. In this study, we performed HPLC-MS/MS analysis on the conditioned medium obtained from 50 human embryos at the 3rd day of in vitro culture. 70 proteins were identified in the medium of 48 embryos. Validation by protein array on two pools of 11 and 9 conditioned media, showed a protein pattern overlap with HPLC-MS/MS of respectively 72% and 78%. Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis on protein spectra, allowed to divide embryos into 3 clusters. The first cluster selectively lacked of proteins involved in programmed cell death. The third cluster was devoid of proteins involved in cell development. Embryos taking the shortest time to develop into 5 cell morulas, featuring lower implantation rate, significantly segregated in the third cluster (P=0.047). Multiple linear regression analysis, identified 12 predictive proteins for transfer success (P < 0.05). Proteomics of embryo secretome aids in understanding embryo physiology and in improving assisted reproductive technology.
authors.affiliation: University of Padova, Department of Medicine & Andrology and Reproductive Medicine Unit, 35128, Padova, Italy, carlo.foresta@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Foresta
authors.affiliation: Genera Centre, 00197, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ubaldi
authors.affiliation: Genera Centre, 00197, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rienzi
authors.affiliation: University of Padova, Department of Biomedical Science, 35131, Padova, Italy, Proteomics Center of Padova University, 35128, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franchin
authors.affiliation: Proteomics Center of Padova University, 35128, Padova, Italy, DAFNAE; University of Padova, 35020, Legnaro (PD), Italy.
authors.forename: Micaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pivato
authors.affiliation: Genera Centre, 00197, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: University of Padova, Department of Molecular Medicine, 35121, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guidolin
authors.affiliation: University of Padova, Department of Molecular Medicine, 35121, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Caro
authors.affiliation: University of Padova, Department of Medicine & Andrology and Reproductive Medicine Unit, 35128, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferlin
authors.affiliation: University of Padova, Department of Medicine & Andrology and Reproductive Medicine Unit, 35128, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Toni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D011506:Proteins