A Proteomic Analysis of Human Follicular Fluid: Comparison between Younger and Older Women with Normal FSH Levels

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Mahmoud Hashemitabar²  Maryam Bahmanzadeh²  Ali Mostafaie³  Mahmoud Orazizadeh²  Marzieh Farimani¹  Roshan Nikbakht⁴ 

[1] Endometr and Endometriosis Research Center, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan 6517789971, Iran; E-Mail:;Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz 1579461357, Iran; E-Mails:;Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6714415185, Iran; E-Mail:;Fertility and Infertility & Perinatology Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz 6193673166, Iran; E-Mail:

关键词: follicular fluid;    reproductive aging;    proteomic analysis;    MALDI-TOF-TOF;    two-dimensional gel electrophoresis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151017518

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The follicular fluid (FF) is produced during folliculogenesis and contains a variety of proteins that play important roles in follicle development and oocyte maturation. Age-related infertility is usually considered as a problem that can be solved by assisted reproduction technology. Therefore, the identification of novel biomarkers that are linked to reproductive aging is the subject of this study. FF was obtained from healthy younger (20–32 years old) and older (38–42 years old) women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) due to male factor infertility. The FF was analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). The power of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and the identification of proteins were exploited using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF-TOF) mass spectrometry. Twenty three protein spots showed reproducible and significant changes in the aged compared to the young group. Of these, 19 protein spots could be identified using MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS. As a result of MASCOT search, five unique downregulated proteins were identified in the older group. These were identified as serotransferrin, hemopexin precursor, complement C3, C4 and kininogen. A number of protein markers were found that may help develop diagnostic methods of infertility.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.