Comparison between reactive oxygen species levels and antioxidant capacity of follicular fluid from polycystic ovary syndrome and healthy women undergoing assisted reproductive techniques

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a multifaceted disorder with a pathogenic pathway that is not completely understood yet. Apart from hormonal derangements, changes in antioxidants enzymes activity and oxidative stress may be having a role in this syndrome complications. Therefore, in this study, we investigated follicular fluid (FF) reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in PCOS and healthy women.Methods: Twenty women with PCOS were compared with regard to follicular fluid oxidant and antioxidant status with 20 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy controls. Freshly follicular fluid aspirated from dominant follicles on the day of oocyte retrieval. ROS levels were evaluated by Luminol-based enhanced Chemiluminescence assay and were represented in relative light unit (RLU). GSH-Px and SOD activities (IU/mL) were measured by specific colorimetric methods. In this study, the comparison between the means of two unrelated groups was undertaken using independent t-test. All statistical analysis performed using SPSS software v. 24.0.Result: RLU in FF of PCOS women was higher than normal(514.12±88.69 vs. 117.14±13.22). Also, SOD activity and GSH-Px activity were lower than the controls significantly (1.62±0.05 vs. 1.73±0.02 and 28.82±4.75 vs. 51.48±12.01 respectively).Conclusion: Although underlying mechanisms have not been fully explicated yet, it becomes evident that oxidative stress holds a significant role in the pathogenesis of PCOS. In fact, PCOS can be considered as a purely oxidative state, where the body antioxidants cannot scavenge the excessive production of free radicals.

کلیدواژه ها:

Follicular fluid ، Glutathione peroxidase ، Reactive oxygen species ، Superoxide dismutase ، Polycystic ovary syndrome