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While the use of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF) is an established practice, the use of luteinizing hormone (LH) remains debatable. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, endogenous, non-coding transcripts that control a variety of cellular functions, such as gonadotrophin production and follicular development. The goal of this pilot study was to investigate whether the employment of recombinant LH (rLH) in ovarian stimulation protocols results in changes in the miRNA profiles in human oocytes. Patients were divided into two groups: seven received recombinant FSH (rFSH, 225 IU), and six received rFSH (150 IU) plus rLH (75 IU). MiRNA predesigned panels and real-time PCR technology were used to analyze the oocytes retrieved from the follicular ovarian retrieval. Among the miRNAs evaluated, a series of them evidenced upregulation or downregulation in their expression in the FSH plus LH group compared to the FSH group. Considering the results obtained from the functional and network analysis, the different maternal miRNA profiles in the two groups revealed a differential modulation of pathways involved in numerous biological functions. Overall, based on the pathways associated with most of these maternal miRNAs, the presence of LH may result in a different modulation of pathways regulating survival under the control of a Tp53-related mechanism. Interestingly, among the miRNAs differentially expressed in oocytes of the two groups, we have found miRNAs already investigated at ovarian, follicular, oocyte, and embryonic levels: hsa-miR-484, hsa-miR-222, hsa-miR-520d-5p, hsa-miRNA-17, hsa-miR-548, and hsa-miR-140. Thus, investigation into the role of these miRNAs in oocyte molecular pathways may help determine how LH affects oocyte competence and eventually leads to the clinical improvement of IVF.

Carnitines play a key physiological role in oocyte metabolism and redox homeostasis. In clinical and animal studies, carnitine administration alleviated metabolic and reproductive dysfunction associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Oxidative stress (OS) at systemic, intraovarian, and intrafollicular levels is one of the main factors involved in the pathogenesis of PCOS. We investigated the ability of different acyl-carnitines to act at the oocyte level by counteracting the effects of OS on carnitine shuttle system and mitochondrial activity in mouse oocytes. Germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes were exposed to hydrogen peroxide and propionyl-l-carnitine (PLC) alone or in association with l-carnitine (LC) and acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) under different conditions. Expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (Cpt1) was monitored by RT-PCR. In in vitro matured oocytes, metaphase II (MII) apparatus was assessed by immunofluorescence. Oocyte mitochondrial respiration was evaluated by Seahorse Cell Mito Stress Test. We found that Cpt1a and Cpt1c isoforms increased under prooxidant conditions. PLC alone significantly improved meiosis completion and oocyte quality with a synergistic effect when combined with LC + ALC. Acyl-carnitines prevented Cpt1c increased expression, modifications of oocyte respiration, and ATP production observed upon OS. Specific effects of PLC on spare respiratory capacity were observed. Therefore, carnitine supplementation modulated the intramitochondrial transfer of fatty acids with positive effects on mitochondrial activity under OS. This knowledge contributes to defining molecular mechanism underlying carnitine efficacy on PCOS.

(1) Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common and multifactorial disease affecting reproductive-age women. Although PCOS ovarian and metabolic features have received extensive research, uterine dysfunction has been poorly investigated. This research aims to investigate morphological and molecular alterations in the PCOS uterus and search for modulating effects of different carnitine formulations. (2) Methods: CD1 mice were administered or not with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA, 6 mg/100 g body weight) for 20 days, alone or with 0.40 mg L-carnitine (LC) and 0.20 mg acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) in the presence or absence of 0.08 mg propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC). Uterine horns from the four groups were subjected to histology, immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting analyses to evaluate their morphology, collagen deposition, autophagy and steroidogenesis. Oxidative-/methylglyoxal (MG)-dependent damage was investigated along with the effects on the mitochondria, SIRT1, SOD2, RAGE and GLO1 proteins. (3) Results: The PCOS uterus suffers from tissue and oxidative alterations associated with MG-AGE accumulation. LC-ALC administration alleviated PCOS uterine tissue alterations and molecular damage. The presence of PLC prevented fibrosis and maintained mitochondria content. (4) Conclusions: The present results provide evidence for oxidative and glycative damage as the main factors contributing to PCOS uterine alterations and include the uterus in the spectrum of action of carnitines on the PCOS phenotype.

Cyclophosphamide (CPM), an agent widely used in breast cancer therapy, has strong gonadotoxic effects. Female reproductive potential after therapy relies on ovulated oocytes deriving from primordial follicles surviving CPM toxic insult. In this study, we investigated in the mouse model whether pre-conceptional maternal exposure to CPM has epigenetic effects on offspring oocytes and if they are inherited. Adult female mice mated following CPM exposure, generated an offspring (F1) with delayed growth, normal fertility and altered methylation of three imprinted genes (H19, Igf2r and Peg3) in their oocytes. These alterations were present in oocytes generated by F2 mice. Pre-conceptional maternal exposure to fertoprotective agents AS101 and crocetin prior to CPM was not able to fully counteract alterations in offspring oocyte imprinting. For the first time, current study evidences that pre-conceptional CPM maternal exposure can affect the competence of offspring’s oocytes and warns on possible long-term effects on the health of next generations.

Wound healing is a complicated process, and the effective management of wounds is a major challenge. Natural herbal remedies have now become fundamental for the management of skin disorders and the treatment of skin infections due to the side effects of modern medicine and lower price for herbal products. The aim of the present study is to summarize the most recent in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies on major herbal preparations, their phytochemical constituents, and new formulations for wound management. Research reveals that several herbal medicaments have marked activity in the management of wounds and that this activity is ascribed to flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, and phenolic compounds. These phytochemicals can act at different stages of the process by means of various mechanisms, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, collagen synthesis stimulating, cell proliferation, and angiogenic effects. The application of natural compounds using nanotechnology systems may provide significant improvement in the efficacy of wound treatments. Increasing the clinical use of these therapies would require safety assessment in clinical trials.

Recently, the importance of bioenergetics in the reproductive process has emerged. For its energetic demand, the oocyte relies on numerous mitochondria, whose activity increases during embryo development under a fine regulation to limit ROS production. Healthy oocyte mitochondria require a balance of pyruvate and fatty acid oxidation. Transport of activated fatty acids into mitochondria requires carnitine. In this regard, the interest in the role of carnitines as mitochondrial modulators in oocyte and embryos is increasing. Carnitine pool includes the un-esterified l-carnitine (LC) and carnitine esters, such as acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) and propionyl-l-carnitine (PLC). In this review, carnitine medium supplementation for counteracting energetic and redox unbalance during in vitro culture and cryopreservation is reported. Although most studies have focused on LC, there is new evidence that the addition of ALC and/or PLC may boost LC effects. Pathways activated by carnitines include antiapoptotic, antiglycative, antioxidant, and antiinflammatory signaling. Nevertheless, the potential of carnitine to improve energetic metabolism and oocyte and embryo competence remains poorly investigated. The importance of carnitine as a mitochondrial modulator may suggest that this molecule may exert a beneficial role in ovarian disfunctions associated with metabolic and mitochondrial alterations, including PCOS and reproductive aging.

Infertility is a potential side effect of radiotherapy and significantly affects the quality of life for adolescent cancer survivors. Very few studies have addressed in pubertal models the mechanistic events that could be targeted to provide protection from gonadotoxicity and data on potential radioprotective treatments in this peculiar period of life are elusive. In this study, we utilized an in vitro model of the mouse pubertal testis to investigate the efficacy of crocetin to counteract ionizing radiation (IR)-induced injury and potential underlying mechanisms. Present experiments provide evidence that exposure of testis fragments from pubertal mice to 2 Gy X-rays induced extensive structural and cellular damage associated with overexpression of PARP1, PCNA, SOD2 and HuR and decreased levels of SIRT1 and catalase. A twenty-four hr exposure to 50 μM crocetin pre- and post-IR significantly reduced testis injury and modulated the response to DNA damage and oxidative stress. Nevertheless, crocetin treatment did not counteract the radiation-induced changes in the expression of SIRT1, p62 and LC3II. These results increase the knowledge of mechanisms underlying radiation damage in pubertal testis and establish the use of crocetin as a fertoprotective agent against IR deleterious effects in pubertal period.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex metabolic disorder associated with female infertility. Based on energy and antioxidant regulatory functions of carnitines, we investigated whether acyl-L-carnitines improve PCOS phenotype in a mouse model induced by dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). CD1 mice received DHEA for 20 days along with two different carnitine formulations: one containing L-carnitine (LC) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), and the other one containing also propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC). We evaluated estrous cyclicity, testosterone level, ovarian follicle health, ovulation rate and oocyte quality, collagen deposition, lipid droplets, and 17ß-HSD IV (17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type IV) expression. Moreover, we analyzed protein expression of SIRT1, SIRT3, SOD2 (superoxide dismutase 2), mitochondrial transcriptional factor A (mtTFA), RAGE (receptor for AGEs), GLO2 (glyoxalase 2) and ovarian accumulation of MG-AGEs (advanced glycation end-products formed by methylglyoxal). Both carnitine formulations ameliorated ovarian PCOS phenotype and positively modulated antioxidant molecular pathways in the ovarian microenvironment. Addition of PLC to LC-ALC formulation mitigated intraovarian MG-AGE accumulation and increased mtTFA expression. In conclusion, our study supports the hypothesis that oral administration of acyl-L-carnitines alleviates ovarian dysfunctions associated with this syndrome and that co-administration of PLC provides better activity. Molecular mechanisms underlying these effects include anti-oxidant/glycative activity and potentiation of mitochondria.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are involved in the pathogenesis and consequences of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a complex metabolic disorder associated with female infertility. The most powerful AGE precursor is methylglyoxal (MG), a byproduct of glycolysis, that is detoxified by the glyoxalase system. By using a PCOS mouse model induced by administration of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), we investigated whether MG-dependent glycative stress contributes to ovarian PCOS phenotype and explored changes in the Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) functional network regulating mitochondrial functions and cell survival. In addition to anovulation and reduced oocyte quality, DHEA ovaries revealed altered collagen deposition, increased vascularization, lipid droplets accumulation and altered steroidogenesis. Here we observed increased intraovarian MG-AGE levels in association with enhanced expression of receptor for AGEs (RAGEs) and deregulation of the glyoxalase system, hallmarks of glycative stress. Moreover, DHEA mice exhibited enhanced ovarian expression of SIRT1 along with increased protein levels of SIRT3 and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), and decreased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1 alpha (PGC1α), mitochondrial transcriptional factor A (mtTFA) and translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20 (TOMM20). Finally, the presence of autophagy protein markers and increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) suggested the involvement of SIRT1/AMPK axis in autophagy activation. Overall, present findings demonstrate that MG-dependent glycative stress is involved in ovarian dysfunctions associated to PCOS and support the hypothesis of a SIRT1-dependent adaptive response.