Comparison of gene expression profiles in granulosa and cumulus cells after ovulation induction with either human chorionic gonadotropin or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist trigger.

Objective: To explore differences in follicle transcriptomes in patients having oocyte maturation with either a bolus of hCG or GnRHa.

Design: Cumulus cells (CC) and mural granulosa cells (MGC) were isolated from preovulatory follicles in patients undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation, prospectively randomized to GnRHa or hCG triggering.

Setting: University-based facilities for clinical services and research.

Patient(s): Twenty women with indication for IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment were randomly allocated to hCG or GnRH agonist (GnRHa) trigger.

Intervention(s): MGC and CC were collected from individual follicles in connection with oocyte retrieval.

Main Outcome Measure(s): RNA was extracted, labeled, amplified, and hybridized on HumanGene1.0ST GeneChip Affymetrix array. Expression data were robust multichip average normalized and compared using Partek and Ingenuity software. Array data were confirmed with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis.

Result(s): Comparing the transcriptomes between the groups, 391 and 252 genes were differentially expressed (fold change >1.5) in CC and MGC, respectively. The enriched bionetworks showed that CC genes highly represented "lipid metabolism and small molecule biochemistry" (network score, 41), while in MGC, the top network was "cardiovascular development and function and cellular movement" (network score, 50). For both CC and MGC, the regulator analysis suggested LH as the upstream regulator for the difference observed. In CC, the LH receptor was more highly expressed after GnRHa trigger, while in MGC, genes involved in angiogenesis such as angiopoietin 1 and semaphorin 3A were down- and up-regulated, respectively, in GnRHa- as compared with hCG-triggered patients.

Conclusion(s): The comparisons between somatic cell transcriptomes from GnRHa- and hCG-triggered follicles showed significant functional differences in both CC (steroidogenesis) and MGC (angiogenesis) compartments.