Expression of leptin, nitric oxide, insulin-like growth factor type I and vascular endothelial growth factor genes in follicular fluid and blood plasma, related to human infertility.

• Grant number: 09/01706-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: November 01, 2009
• End date: June 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Pimenta Bertolla
• Grantee: Patricia Marafon Porciuncula
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Approximately 15% of couples in reproductive age will not achieve pregnancy without assisted reproduction techniques. The etiology of infertility is ample and physiologic events have not yet been clarifyed. Leptin, insulin-like growth factor type I (IGF-I), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and nitric oxide (NO), associated with hormonal changes, have been a major focus of research regarding the physiopathology of infertility. Women are especially susceptible to a decrease in reproductive function due to altered body mass and overall condition. The aim of this study was to compare the expression of leptin, IGF-I, VEGF, and oxide nitric production in follicular fluid, and serum progesterone and estradiol levels in patients with increased body mass index (BMI) with patients with normal BMI undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) at the Sao Paulo Hospital - Sao Paulo Federal University - UNIFESP. Patients will be grouped according to BMI into (A) increased BMI (e25 kg/m2) and (B) normal BMI (between 17 and 25 kg/m2), following current Brazilian Association for the Study of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome (ABESO) guidelines. Groups will be further subdivided into A1 (normal BMI, pregnant), A2 (normal BMI, non-pregnant), B1 (increased BMI, pregnant), and B2 (increased BMI, non-pregnant).