title: Homocysteine in embryo culture media as a predictor of pregnancy outcome in assisted reproductive technology.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine whether homocysteine (hcy) concentrations in embryo culture media correlate with pregnancy outcome in assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles. Forty patients who underwent single embryo transfer at the infertility clinic of a tertiary care center were recruited for this case-control study. Spent embryo culture media from all patients were collected after single embryo transfer on day 3 (n = 40). Hcy concentrations in embryo culture media were analyzed by enzyme cycling method. Patients were grouped according to the diagnosis of a clinical pregnancy. Sixteen patients were pregnant while 24 patients failed to achieve conception. Mean Hcy levels in the culture media were significantly different between the groups (p < 0.003), as 4.58 ± 1.31 μmol/l in the non-pregnant group and 3.37 ± 0.92 μmol/l in the pregnant group. Receiver operator curve analysis for determining the diagnostic potential of Hcy for pregnancy revealed an area under the curve of 0.792 (confidence interval: 0.65-0.94; p < 0.05). A cut-off value of 3.53 μmol/l was determined with a sensitivity of 83.3%, and a specificity of 68.8%. Lower hcy levels were associated with a better chance of pregnancy and better embryo grades. Hcy may be introduced as an individual metabolomic profiling marker for embryos.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Malatya Darende Hulusi Efendi State Hospital , Darende - Malatya , Turkey and.
authors.forename: Burcu Aydin
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Boyama
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cepni
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Metehan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imamoglu
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oncul
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tuten
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Aytac
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Yuksel
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Ertan
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Kervancioglu
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Semih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaleli
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University , Istanbul , Turkey.
authors.forename: Pelin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ocal
mesh_terms: D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine
keywords: Assisted reproductive technology; clinical pregnancy; embryo culture media; homocysteine; metabolomics