Why Has Metabolomics So Far Not Managed to Efficiently Contribute to the Improvement of Assisted Reproduction Outcomes? The Answer through a Review of the Best Available Current Evidence
Charalampos Siristatidis,
Konstantinos Dafopoulos,
Michail Papapanou,
Sofoklis Stavros,
Abraham Pouliakis,
Anna Eleftheriades,
Tatiana Sidiropoulou,
Nikolaos Vlahos
Affiliations
Charalampos Siristatidis
Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Aretaieion Hospital”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vas. Sofias 76, 11528 Athens, Greece
Konstantinos Dafopoulos
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Assisted Reproduction Unit, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University Hospital, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Michail Papapanou
Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Aretaieion Hospital”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vas. Sofias 76, 11528 Athens, Greece
Sofoklis Stavros
First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Assisted Reproduction Unit, Medical School, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 80 Vas. Sofias Av. and Lourou str., 11528 Athens, Greece
Abraham Pouliakis
Second Department of Pathology, “Attikon” University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Rimini 1, Chaidari, 12642 Athens, Greece
Anna Eleftheriades
Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Aretaieion Hospital”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vas. Sofias 76, 11528 Athens, Greece
Tatiana Sidiropoulou
Second Department of Anesthesiology, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Rimini 1, 12462 Athens, Greece
Nikolaos Vlahos
Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Aretaieion Hospital”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Vas. Sofias 76, 11528 Athens, Greece
Metabolomics emerged to give clinicians the necessary information on the competence, in terms of physiology and function, of gametes, embryos, and the endometrium towards a targeted infertility treatment, namely, assisted reproduction techniques (ART). Our minireview aims to investigate the current status of the use of metabolomics in assisted reproduction, the potential flaws in its use, and to propose specific solutions towards the improvement of ART outcomes through the use of the intervention. We used published reports assessing the role of metabolomic investigation of the endometrium, oocytes, and embryos in improving clinical outcomes in women undergoing ART. We initially found that there is no evidence to support that fertility outcomes can be improved through metabolomics profiling. In contrast, it may be helpful for understanding and appraising the nutritional environment of oocytes and embryos. The causes include the different infertility populations, the difference between animals and humans, technical limitations, and the great heterogeneity in the variables employed. Suggested steps include the standardization of variables of the method itself, the universal creation of a panel where all biomarkers are stored concerning specific infertile populations with different phenotypes or etiologies, specific bioinformatics contribution, significant computing power for data processing, and importantly, properly conducted trials.
