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N-Acetyl-Cysteine and l-Carnitine Prevent Meiotic Oocyte Damage Induced by Follicular Fluid From Infertile Women With Mild Endometriosis

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Abstract

This study evaluated the potential protective effect of the antioxidants, l-carnitine (LC) and N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), in preventing meiotic oocyte damage induced by follicular fluid (FF) from infertile women with mild endometriosis (ME). We performed an experimental study. The FF samples were obtained from 22 infertile women undergoing stimulated cycles for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (11 with ME and 11 without endometriosis). Immature bovine oocytes were submitted to in vitro maturation (IVM) divided into 9 groups: no-FF (No-FF); with FF from control (CFF) or ME (EFF) groups; and with LC (C + LC and E + LC), NAC (C + NAC and E + NAC), or both antioxidants (C + 2Ao and E + 2Ao). After IVM, oocytes were immunostained for visualization of microtubules and chromatin by confocal microscopy. The percentage of meiotically normal metaphase II (MII) oocytes was significantly lower in the EFF group (51.35%) compared to No-FF (86.36%) and CFF (83.52%) groups. The E + NAC (62.22%), E + LC (80.61%), and E + 2Ao (61.40%) groups showed higher percentage of normal MII than EFF group. The E + LC group showed higher percentage of normal MII than E + NAC and E + 2Ao groups and a similar percentage to No-FF and CFF groups. Therefore, FF from infertile women with ME causes meiotic abnormalities in bovine oocytes, and, for the first time, we demonstrated that the use of NAC and LC prevents these damages. Our findings elucidate part of the pathogenic mechanisms involved in infertility associated with ME and open perspectives for further studies investigating whether the use of LC could improve the natural fertility and/or the results of in vitro fertilization of women with ME.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Reproduction Division, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, 3900, Brazil

    Vanessa S. I. Giorgi MSc, Rui A. Ferriani MD, PhD & Paula A. Navarro MD, PhD

  2. Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil

    Michele G. Da Broi Msc

  3. National Institute of Hormones and Women’s Health, CNPq, Brazil

    Claudia C. P. Paz PhD, Rui A. Ferriani MD, PhD & Paula A. Navarro MD, PhD

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  1. Vanessa S. I. Giorgi MSc
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  2. Michele G. Da Broi Msc
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  3. Claudia C. P. Paz PhD
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  4. Rui A. Ferriani MD, PhD
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  5. Paula A. Navarro MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Vanessa S. I. Giorgi MSc.

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Giorgi, V.S.I., Da Broi, M.G., Paz, C.C.P. et al. N-Acetyl-Cysteine and l-Carnitine Prevent Meiotic Oocyte Damage Induced by Follicular Fluid From Infertile Women With Mild Endometriosis. Reprod. Sci. 23, 342–351 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719115602772

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