IVF outcome with a high level of AMH: a focus on PCOS versus non-PCOS

Elevated Anti-Müllerian Hormone as a Prognostic Factor for Poor Outcomes of In Vitro Fertilization in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) tend to have elevated anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, which appear to correlate with disease severity and pregnancy outcomes. This was a retrospective observational study designed to assess the relationship between circulating AMH levels and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. The study involved 150 women with PCOS who underwent IVF treatments. The women's IVF cycles were allocated into three subgroups according to AMH levels: 'low' (AMH < 3.7 ng/mL; n = 49), 'middle' (AMH 3.7-7.4 ng/mL; n = 94), and 'high' (AMH > 7.4 ng/mL; n = 56). All pregnancy-related outcomes (positive beta human chorionic gonadotropin (βHCG), clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate, and cumulative live birth rate) were greater in women's IVF cycles with 'low' AMH when compared to those with 'middle' or 'high' AMH (p < 0.05). AMH levels below 3.7 ng/mL were found to be associated with lower oocyte immaturity rate and better pregnancy outcomes, although baseline AMH was not shown to have any significant predictive power for live birth and cumulative live birth in the multivariable logistic regression analysis after adjusting for possible confounders nor in the ROC analyses. In summary, the current study lays the groundwork to validate high AMH levels as a poor prognostic factor for pregnancy outcomes after IVF in women with PCOS.

Association between serum AMH levels and IVF/ICSI outcomes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

CONTEXT

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels are increased in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients and are associated with PCOS severity.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the associations between serum AMH levels and in vitro fertilization (IVF)/ intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes in patients with PCOS.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched on 11 July 2022.

STUDY SELECTION

Studies reporting the association between serum AMH levels and IVF/ICSI outcomes in PCOS patients were considered for inclusion. The primary outcomes were clinical pregnancy, live birth, and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data were extracted using a standardized data extraction form. Study quality was assessed independently by two groups of researchers.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Nineteen studies were included in this review. Meta-analyses demonstrated that PCOS patients with a serum AMH level within the 75-100th percentile had a decreased odds of clinical pregnancy (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63-0.93) and livebirth (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.58-0.87) compared to those within the 0-25th percentile. An increased AMH level was also correlated with an increased number of oocytes retrieved (SMD: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.30-1.51) and a lower odds of fertilization (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87-0.98). There was no significant difference in the number of MII oocytes (SMD: 1.85, 95% CI: -1.07-4.78), E2 on the day of hCG (SMD: 0.12; 95% CI: -0.98-1.23), or implantation (OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.28-2.39) between the two groups. In addition, we found significant dose-response associations between serum AMH level and clinical pregnancy, live birth, number of oocytes retrieved, and fertilization in PCOS patients.

CONCLUSION

AMH may have clinical utility in counseling regarding IVF/ICSI outcomes among women with PCOS who wish to undergo fertility treatment. More large-scale, high-quality cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings.

ApoC3 is expressed in oocytes and increased expression is associated with PCOS progression

BACKGROUND

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a lifelong metabolic disorder and the most common cause of anovulatory infertility affecting women in reproductive age. Our recent study reported that apolipoprotein C3 (ApoC3) could be a potential diagnostic serum marker for metabolism disturbance in PCOS patients, but whether it is present in the ovaries and what role it plays has not yet been described.

OBJECTIVE

Aimed to investigate ApoC3 expression in ovary of PCOS, and to discuss its potential role in PCOS progression.

METHODS

ApoC3 expression in ovarian tissue samples from 12 PCOS patients along with 12 healthy controls were measured via immunohistochemistry (IHC). Also, the level of ApoC3 in follicular fluid from 14 patients diagnosed with PCOS and 13 control subjects were detected by ELISA. The expression and location of ApoC3 in ovaries of PCOS mice were tested weekly for three consecutive weeks during PCOS formation using real time PCR, Western Blot, IHC and immunofluorescence. The relation of ApoC3 and sex hormones was analyzed in mouse plasma. Additionally, the dynamic changes of ApoC3 level in ovaries of healthy mice during postnatal development was also investigated.

RESULTS

ApoC3 levels in ovarian tissue and follicular fluid were significantly higher in PCOS patients than in controls (33.87 ± 4.11 vs. 27.71 ± 3.65, P < 0.01; 0.87 ± 0.09 vs. 0.51 ± 0.32 ng/mL, P < 0.05), respectively. In ovary, ApoC3 was found to be located in the cytoplasm of oocyte, and its expression gradually increased with PCOS progression (P < 0.05). Furthermore, correlation analysis showed that plasma ApoC3 level was closely associated with luteinizing hormone (r = 0.709, P = 0.001), testosterone (r = 0.627, P = 0.005) and anti-mullerian hormone (r = 0.680, P = 0.002) in PCOS mice. In addition, ApoC3 level in oocyte was physiologically increased and peaked on postnatal age 21 (P21), then decreased following P21 in healthy mice.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified ApoC3 expression in oocyte. It may be involved in PCOS progression and possibly participate in the regulation of oocyte development.

The clinical application value of gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist combined with low-dose HCG regimen in patients with ovarian hyper-stimulation based on clinical characteristics and laboratory indicators

OBJECTIVE

To explore the clinical application value of gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH-A) combined with low-dose HCG regimen in patients with high ovarian response based on clinical characteristics and laboratory indicators.

METHODS

The clinical data of 305 patients who received IVF/ICSI in the Hechi People's Hospital Reproductive Medicine Center from March 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively included, and all patients were treated with GnRH-A combined with low-dose HCG regimen protocol. The patients were separated into an ovarian hyper-response group and a normal ovarian reaction group according to their ovarian reactivity. Risk factors for ovarian hyper-response in IVF/ICSI patients were screened by univariate and multivariate logistic analysis. The ROC curve area was used to evaluate the prediction effect.

RESULTS

Of the 305 patients, 6 (1.97%) had poor ovarian reaction, 123 (40.33%) had ovarian hyper response, and 176 (57.70%) had normal ovarian reaction. The proportion of ovarian hyper response and normal ovarian reaction was 98.03% (299/305); the basic serum FSH level, AMH level, E2 on HCG level on HCG injection day and the incidence of moderate to severe OHSS in the Ovarian hyper-response group were compared with those in the normal ovarian reaction group (P < 0.05). Logistic reversion analysis showed that AMH (OR = 1.246, 95% CI = 1.107-1.402), E2 level on HCG injection day (OR = 1.050, 95% CI = 1.028-1.072) and P level on HCG injection day (OR = 5.831, 95% CI = 1.231-27.616) were factors for ovarian hyper response. Basal serum FSH (OR = 0.781, 95% CI = 0.647-0.94) and LH level on HCG injection day (OR = 0.594, 95% CI = 0.405-0.871) were negatively correlated with the occurrence of high response (P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that AMH (AUC = 0.779), E2 level on HCG injection day (AUC = 0.802), P level on HCG injection day (AUC = 0.636), combined detection (AUC = 0.843), AUC > 0.5. Among them, the prediction effect of joint detection is better.

CONCLUSION

GnRH-A combined with low-dose HCG regimen is feasible for patients with ovarian hyper-response during IVF-ET/ICSI, and does not affect the implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate, and early abortion rate of such patients. Combined detection of basal serum FSH, AMH, LH, E2 and P levels on HCG injection day can effectively predict the occurrence of ovarian hyper-response.