miRNAs in follicular fluid

Our aim with this work is to identify and quantify the miRNA profile of the human follicular fluid using a miRNA microarray approach in young and advanced-aged women and in follicles with different oocyte quality. Data collected in this study would be utilized in a future as a marker to predict the oocyte quality. This observational prospective study includes women enrolled in the assisted reproduction program of Hospital Universitari i Politècnic la Fe (Valencia, Spain). The study was accepted by IRB of this Hospital and all couples received informed consent of our study and assisted technique according to service protocols. The study was divided in two stages: Stage 1: Patients (n=21) who had follicles yielding oocytes with different degree of maturation were included (n=21). The follicular fluid samples from 21 patients were pooled in different groups. Expression of miRNA in the follicular fluids was compared within each patient according the degree of oocyte maturation. Stage 2: Patients were allocated into two groups according to the patient's age: advanced age (AA; >36 years old) and young age (YA; <36 years old). Follicular fluids from follicles containing MII oocytes were pooled and miRNA expression was subsequently compared. Please note that the MII samples with underscore (such as MII1 vs MII_1) indicate different pools so they are not the same sample, but we maintained the number because they correspond to paired samples pools for GV and MI.