Profile of Bile Acid Metabolomics in the Follicular Fluid of PCOS Patients

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex heterogeneous endocrine disease affected by genetic and environmental factors. In this manuscript, we aimed to describe the composition of bile acid metabolomics in the follicular fluid (FF) of PCOS. The FF was collected from 31 control patients and 35 PCOS patients diagnosed according to the Rotterdam diagnostic criteria. The Bile Acid Assay Kit and ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) were used in this study to detect the total bile acid and 24 bile acid metabolites. Glycocholic acid (GC3A), taurocholic acid (TCA), glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA), and chenodeoxycholic acid-3-β-D-glucuronide (CDCA-3Gln) were elevated in the PCOS group. GCDCA was positively correlated with the serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (r = 0.3787, p = 0.0017) and luteinizing hormone (LH) (r = 0.2670, p = 0.0302). The level of CDCA-3Gln also rose with the increase in antral follicle counts (AFC) (r = 0.3247, p = 0.0078). Compared with the control group, the primary bile acids (p = 0.0207) and conjugated bile acids (p = 0.0283) were elevated in PCOS. For the first time, our study described the changes in bile acid metabolomics in the FF of PCOS patients, suggesting that bile acids may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PCOS.

Gut and Vaginal Microbiomes in PCOS: Implications for Women’s Health

“…Some studies reported that the decreased level of SCFA might be related to the development of insulin-resistant ( 58 ), which plays an important role in the development of PCOS ( Figure 2 ). Besides, it has been suggested that bile acid is related to microbiome in PCOS women ( 59 ). Gut microbiota could regulate bile acid metabolism including in synthesis, metabolism, and reabsorption of bile acids, through vitamin D receptor and G protein-coupled receptor ( 60 ).…”

Follicular Fluid: A Powerful Tool for the Understanding and Diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

“…Some of the characteristics of these techniques are specified in Table 1 . Some studies have also resorted to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) [ 122 ], ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) [ 76 ], multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-profiling [ 123 ], and different types of immunoassays [ 33 , 124 , 125 , 126 ].…”

“…Until today, both the subsequent etiology and pathophysiology of PCOS remain unclear. To reduce the psychological and social pressures that come with this pathology, several studies were conducted to facilitate the diagnosis and treatments [ 1 , 76 ]. Patients with PCOS that undergo assisted reproductive techniques (ART) might present a poor to exaggerated response, low oocyte quality, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, as well as changes in the FF metabolites pattern.…”

Bile acids, bioactive signalling molecules in interoceptive gut‐to‐brain communication

“…In the absence of a gut microbial community, BA moieties would have remained a conservative set of molecules. Bacterial enzymatic modifications in the gut lumen are responsible for the huge diversity of BAs detected regionally in the liver, the gut, the systemic circulation (Staley et al., 2017) and even the brain (Zheng et al., 2016), breast milk (Forsyth et al., 1983) and ovarian follicles (Yang et al., 2021). Often, secondary bile acids are more potent agonists for BA receptors (Ridlon et al., 2016).…”