Mitochondrial D-loop variations in infertile women undergoing a long stimulation protocol

Abstract

Objective: To study a high frequency of mtDNA D-loop variations in infertile women undergoing a long stimulation protocol and their potential relevance with endpoints of IVF.

Study design: Peripheral blood was taken from 156 patient ≤ 42 years of age. The entire D-loop region of mtDNA was amplified in three overlapping polymerase chain reaction fragments, and variations were evaluated by direct DNA sequencing methods in 156 infertile women undergoing a long stimulation protocol.

Results: A total of 48 variations were found at 47 positions in the D-loop of all patients. Median age of the patients was 34.09 years (26-42 years). The incidence of variations was significantly higher in the group of patients aged >34.09 years (P=0.001), especially 16191 C → T (P=0.017) and 199 T → C (P=0.045). In contrast, the incidence of variations was significantly lower on the day of hCG administration in the group of patients with E₂>8037.97 pmol/L (P=0.001). However, variations were not significantly associated with early follicular phase FSH (P=0.262), the number of oocytes retrieved (P=0.191) or the pregnancy rate (P=0.487).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that the increase in mtDNA variations in peripheral blood from infertile women could have a predictive value for the response of infertile women undergoing a long stimulation protocol.