3.1 An efficient LC-MS approach for distinguishing Cook Medical and Vitrolife SECM for day 3 embryos.
Fresh culture medium without embryo culture and SECM samples were used to establish the procedures of sample collecting, preparing and detection by LC-MS approach. Firstly, metabolomic sample preparing and LC-MS method was established using fresh Cook Medical and Vitrolife culture medium without embryo culture. LC separated the metabolites extracted from the fresh culture medium effectively. With the excellent qualitative and quantitative ability of high-resolution mass spectrometry, the culture medium components can be identified, including high content of non-essential amino acids and nutrient molecules (Fig. 1).
Methanol was used as protein precipitation reagent, and the ratio was optimized at 3:1, 4:1 and 9:1 (methanol: medium sample, v/v). MS signal of several amino acids were extracted and method precision was evaluated by calculate the relative standard deviations. Among them, the MS signal of 9:1 treatment was the best, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the mentioned amino acids were within 5% (Supplemental Table 1).
Next, 10 SECM samples were used to evaluated the impact of SECM collecting. There was no metabolomic difference between 2 SECM samples from a same microdroplet collected by 2 different embryologists under the same protocol (Fig. 2).
Metabolite profiling was performed on the medium before and after embryo culture, and it was found that the content of pyruvate and lactate in the medium after embryo culture decreased (Fig. 3), which indicated LC-MS could quantitativly revealed the metabolites’ content in SECM.
After the above procedures about sample collecting, preparing and detection by LC-MS were tested, the approach was established, 20 SECM samples from either Cook Medical or Vitrolife medium were collected and detected by LC-MS. Interactive principal components analysis (iPCA) showed a clear clustering of SECM samples from Cook and Vitrolife medium (Fig. 4), which indicated LC-MS could efficiently distinguished SECM samples from these two commercial medium.
3.2 Baseline Characteristics of Patients and Embryos for Vitrolife medium and Cook Medical medium.
For Vitrolife medium, a total of 52 patients were enrolled, and their 69 embryos were transfered (17 patients were transfered 2 embryos; and 35 patients were transfered with one single embryo) in the study. The spent culture medium of the 69 embryos were collected successfully and analyzed by LC-MS. 12 patients (17 embryos) became pregnant successfully after embryo transfer (s-implanting group), while the other 40 patients (52 embryos) failed (f-implanting group) (Fig. 5). The demographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups are listed in Table 1. There were no significant differences between the two groups in mean age, body mass index (BMI) of the female patients, the level of AMH, ovary stimulation duration, number of antral follicles and number of retrieved oocytes. The mean age of female’s parterner from f-implanting group was significantly older than that from s-implanting group (38.90 vs 35, P = 0.021). The infertility duration of f-implanting group was significantly longer than that from s-implanting group (3.68 vs 1.88, P = 0.003). The thickness of the patients’ endometrium before transferring from s-implanting group was significantly thicker than that from f-implanting group (11.13vs 8.86, P = 0.003. 66.7% and 42.5% patients in s-implanting group and f-implanting group were diagnosed primary infertility without significant difference. Approximately 94.1%, and 94.2% embryos transferred were 7–10 blastomeres in s-implanting and f-implanting group. Approximately 70.6%, and 53.8% transferred embryos in s-implanting and f-implanting group were morphologically evaluated as grade I. The proportion of 7–10 blastomeres embryos and morphological grade I embryos had no significant differences among the two groups.
For Cook Medical medium, a total of 26 patients were enrolled, and their 37 embryos were transfered (11 patients were transfered 2 embryos; and 15 patients were transfered with one single embryo) in the study. The spent culture medium of the 37 embryos were collected successfully and analyzed by LC-MS. 10 patients (14 embryos) became pregnant successfully after embryo transfer (s-implanting group), while the other 16 patients (23 embryos) failed (f-implanting group) (Fig. 5). The demographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups are listed in Table 1. There were no significant differences between the two groups in mean ages of the female and their husbands, female patients’body mass index (BMI), infertility duration, the level of AMH, ovary stimulation duration, number of antral follicles and number of retrieved oocytes and the mean thickness of the patients’ endometrium before transferring. 50% and 46.7% patients in s-implanting group and f-implanting group were diagnosed primary infertility without significant difference. Approximately 100%, and 95.7% embryos transferred were 7–10 blastomeres in s-implanting and f-implanting group. Approximately 50% and 39.1% transferred embryos in s-implanting and f-implanting group were morphologically evaluated as grade I. The proportion of 7–10 blastomeres embryos and morphological grade I embryos had no significant differences among the two groups.
Table 1
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients undergoing day 3 embryo transfer and spent embryo culture medium collecting for Vitrolife and Cook Medical
|
Vitrolife
|
Cook Medical
|
s-implanting (n = 12)
|
f-implanting (n = 40)
|
P value
|
s-implanting (n = 10)
|
f-implanting (n = 16)
|
P value
|
Maternal age (years)
|
34.25 ± 3.62
|
36.50 ± 5.28
|
0.174
|
33.60 ± 2.50
|
32.50 ± 4.93
|
0.521
|
Paternal age (years)
|
35.00 ± 4.13
|
38.90 ± 6.76
|
0.021
|
33.70 ± 2.87
|
34.81 ± 5.91
|
0.586
|
Maternal BMI (kg/m2) a
|
22.32 ± 2.18
|
22.68 ± 3.67
|
0.761
|
23.62 ± 3.61
|
26.14 ± 4.72
|
0.166
|
Infertility duration (years)
|
1.88 ± 1.21
|
3.68 ± 2.88
|
0.003
|
4.00 ± 2.67
|
3.46 ± 2.68
|
0.619
|
AMH (ng/ml)
|
2.73 ± 2.14
|
2.24 ± 1.99
|
0.498
|
2.76 ± 1.86
|
2.88 ± 3.41
|
0.922
|
Ovary stimulation duration (days)
|
9.25 ± 2.42
|
8.85 ± 1.98
|
0.563
|
9.60 ± 0.97
|
9.75 ± 1.61
|
0.793
|
Antral follicles (numbers)
|
10.00 ± 7.20
|
7.55 ± 5.26
|
0.201
|
10.10 ± 4.33
|
10.38 ± 8.75
|
0.927
|
Retrieved oocytes (numbers)
|
8.58 ± 6.49
|
5.38 ± 3.66
|
0.125
|
7.40 ± 3.92
|
6.63 ± 3.67
|
0.614
|
Endometrial thickness b (mm)
|
11.13 ± 2.30
|
8.86 ± 2.16
|
0.003
|
10.13 ± 2.34
|
9.42 ± 1.86
|
0.403
|
Primary infertility, n (%)
|
8(66.7)
|
17(42.5)
|
0.142
|
5 (50)
|
7 (46.7)
|
0.870
|
No. of embryos transferred on day 3
|
s-implanting (n = 17)
|
f-implanting (n = 52)
|
|
s-implanting (n = 14)
|
f-implanting (n = 23)
|
|
7–10 cell embryo rate, n (%) c
|
16(94.1)
|
49(94.2)
|
0.986
|
14 (100)
|
22 (95.7)
|
0.429
|
Morphological grade I embryo rate, n (%) d
|
12(70.6 )
|
28(53.8)
|
0.225
|
7 (50)
|
9 (39.1)
|
0.517
|
a BMI is the abbreviation of body mass index;
b Endometrial thickness: the thickness of the endometrium on the LH surge day.
C Proportion of embryos with 7–10 blastomeres on day 3
d Proportion of morphological grade I embryos
Italic P-value indicates significantly different
3.3 Metabolomic ions with different level between s-implanting and f-implanting group were detected in Vitrolife and Cook Medical SECM.
The 69 and 37 SECM samples were collected and analyzed by LC-MS within 3 and 2 batches respectively from Vitrolife and Cook Medical medium and a series of metabolomic ions with different level (a fold change of ≥ 1.5 and p < 0.05 by univariate statistics) were found (Supplemental Fig. 5). Among the differential metabolites in 2 batches of Cook Medical medium and 3 batches of Vitrolife medium, 66 metabolites overlapped at least in 2 batches (Fig. 6). The ion with m/z 121.029 was the only universal metabilite which had the similar trend between batches (Fig. 7) and was identified as benzoic acid by structure analysis (Fig. 8A, B) .