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BackgroundThe main objective of the present work was to compare the effects of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) and GnRH antagonist (GnRH-ant) on the gene expression profiles of oocytes obtained from Iranian infertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).MethodsFifty infertile couples who underwent IVF between June 2012 and November 2013 at the Infertility Center of Tehran Women General Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were included in this study. We included women that had undergone IVF treatment because of male factor, tubal factor, or unexplained infertility. The women randomly underwent controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with either the GnRH-a (n = 26) or the GnRH-ant (n = 24). We obtained 50 germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes donated by women in each group. After the sampling, pool of 50 GV oocytes for each group was separately analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).ResultThe expression levels of Adenosine triphosphatase 6 (ATPase 6), Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), and Neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) genes were significantly upregulated in the GnRH-ant group compared to the GnRH-a group, with the fold change of 3.990 (SD ± 1.325), 6.274 (SD ± 1.542), and 2.156 (SD ± 1.443), respectively, (P < 0.001). Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) mRNA did not have any expression in the GnRH-a group; however, GDF9 mRNA was expressed in the GnRH-ant group. Finally, it was found that the genes involved in the DNA repairing and cell cycle checkpoint did not have any expression in either group.ConclusionThe present study showed, for the first time, the expression levels of genes involved in the cytoplasmic maturity (BMP15, GDF9), adenosine triphosphate production (ATPase 6), and antiapoptotic process (NAIP), in human GV oocytes were significantly higher in the GnRH-anta group than in the GnRH-a group in COS. Higher expression level of these genes when GnRH-ant protocol is applied, this protocol seems to be a more appropriate choice for women with poly cystic ovarian syndrome, because it can probably improve the expression of the aforementioned genes.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials: IRCT 2014031112307 N3.

Background: Nitric Oxide (NO) is a very important signaling molecule which acts as a regulator of many physiological processes in many tissues including epithelial cell of gastrointestinal tract. In this study we investigated the effects of L-Arginine as a NO progenitor and L-NAME as a NO inhibitor on epithelial cell number and height of Jejunum in female rats. Materials and methods: 40 female rats were divided into 5 groups, containing 8 rats in each group. Except the control group, the other groups received normal saline (2 ml/kg), L-Arginine (200mg/kg), L-NAME (20mg/kg) and a mixture of two substances for L-Arginine & L-NAME group intraperitoneally for 3 days. 2 weeks later after anesthesia with ether, jejunum was expelled out and after tissue processing and staining with H&E method, the changes were assessed via light microscopy. Cell number and height were evaluated using Image Tools3 Microsoft. Statistical analysis was made by One-Way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc test to evaluate the statistical significance between different groups. A value of p< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was a significant increase in the cell number and height of jejunal epithelium in L-Arginine group (P<0.05). Whereas no significant difference was observed between L-NAME, L-Arginine +L-NAME and control, Normal Saline groups. Conclusion: L-Arginine can result in proliferation of Jejunum epithelial cells whereas L-NAME has no effect on these cells.