title: Melatonin levels in follicular fluid as markers for IVF outcomes and predicting ovarian reserve.
abstract: Good-quality oocytes are critical for the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF), but, to date, there is no marker of ovarian reserve available that can accurately predict oocyte quality. Melatonin exerts its antioxidant actions as a strong radical scavenger that might affect oocyte quality directly as it is the most potent antioxidant in follicular fluid. To investigate the precise role of endogenous melatonin in IVF outcomes, we recruited 61 women undergoing treatment cycles of IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures and classified them into three groups according to their response to ovarian stimulation. Follicular fluid was collected to assess melatonin levels using a direct RIA method. We found good correlations between melatonin levels in follicular fluid with age, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and baseline follicle-stimulating hormone (bFSH), all of which have been used to predict ovarian reserve. Furthermore, as melatonin levels correlated to IVF outcomes, higher numbers of oocytes were collected from patients with higher melatonin levels and consequently the number of oocytes fertilized, zygotes cleaved, top quality embryos on D3, blastocysts obtained and embryos suitable for transplantation was higher. The blastocyst rate increased in concert with the melatonin levels across the gradient between the poor response group and the high response group. These results demonstrated that the melatonin levels in follicular fluid is associated with both the quantity and quality of oocytes and can predict IVF outcomes as well making them highly relevant biochemical markers of ovarian reserve.
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive MedicineRen Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.|Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive GeneticsShanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear MedicineRen Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Shile
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive MedicineRen Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.|Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive GeneticsShanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive MedicineRen Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.|Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive GeneticsShanghai, China.|Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyCenter for Reproductive Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Huihui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive MedicineRen Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China zhangxinyunlife@163.com liweiping@renji.com chenzijiang@hotmail.com.|Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive GeneticsShanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Ping
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive MedicineRen Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China zhangxinyunlife@163.com liweiping@renji.com chenzijiang@hotmail.com.|Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive GeneticsShanghai, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance ResearchCollege of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Reproductive MedicineRen Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China zhangxinyunlife@163.com liweiping@renji.com chenzijiang@hotmail.com.|Shanghai Key Laboratory for Assisted Reproduction and Reproductive GeneticsShanghai, China.|Center for Reproductive MedicineShandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.|National Research Center for Assisted Reproductive Technology and Reproductive GeneticsJinan, China.|The Key Laboratory for Reproductive Endocrinology of Ministry of EducationJinan, China.|Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Reproductive MedicineJinan, China.
authors.forename: Zi-Jiang
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D015571:Follicular Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008550:Melatonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009865:Oocytes / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D065851:Ovarian Reserve / Q000502:physiology*; D010062:Ovulation Induction; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008550:Melatonin