DHEA restores mitochondrial dynamics of cumulus cells by regulating PGAM5 expression in poor ovarian responders

Objective: Poor ovarian responder (POR) poses a significant challenge for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Previous studies have suggested that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) may improve IVF outcomes in POR. The current study attempts to investigate the clinical benefits of DHEA in POR and the possible mechanism of DHEA on cumulus cells (CCs).Materials and methods: A total of 60 women who underwent IVF treatment participated, including 22 normal ovarian responders (NORs) and 38 PORs. PORs were assigned to receive DHEA supplementation (n = 18) or not (n = 20) before IVF cycles. For all patients, CCs were obtained after oocyte retrieval. In the CCs, mRNA expression of mitochondrial dynamics relataed genes were measured.Results: Supplementation of DHEA in POR reduced mitochondrial fission in CCs and decreased the expression of PGAM5 in CCs. Conclusion: The benefit of DHEA supplementation on IVF outcomes in POR is significant, and this effect may be mediated in part through improved mitochondrial dynamics in CC. (c) 2022 Taiwan Association of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study investigates the clinical benefits of DHEA supplementation for poor ovarian responders (POR) in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles and its potential mechanism on cumulus cells (CCs). The findings indicate that DHEA supplementation reduces mitochondrial fission in CCs and decreases the expression of PGAM5.