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Rare genetic variants potentially involved in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics volume 36, pages 491–497 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

We aim to investigate whether there is a genetic predisposition in women who developed ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) after GnRH antagonist protocol with GnRH agonist trigger and freeze-all approach.

Methods

Four patients with OHSS after GnRH agonist trigger and freeze-all approach were gathered from the worldwide patient population. These patients were analyzed through Whole Exome Sequencing. In this study known causes of OHSS were investigated and new causes present in at least two individuals were searched for.

Results

In the first part of the study, we evaluated the presence of mutations in genes already known to be involved in OHSS. In PGR and TP53, heterozygous alterations were detected. PGR is predicted to be involved in progesterone resistance with a recessive inheritance pattern and is, therefore, not considered as being causal. The consequences of the variant detected in TP53 currently remain unknown. In part 2 of the study, we assessed the clinical significance of variants in genes previously not linked to OHSS. We especially focused on genes with variants present in ≥ 2 patients. Two patients have variants in the FLT4 gene. Mutations in this gene are linked to hereditary lymphedema, but no link to OHSS has been described.

Conclusions

Defining a genetic predisposition for OHSS is essential in view of prevention. In this study, a potential link between the FLT4 gene and OHSS has been suggested. Future functional studies are essential to define a more precise involvement of the detected variants in the development of OHSS.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the lab technicians of the Center for Medical Genetics for performing WES and Sanger sequencing. Funding was received from ‘Wetenschappelijk Fonds Willy Gepts of the UZ Brussel’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Medical Genetics/Research Center Reproduction and Genetics, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Katrien Stouffs, Sara Seneca & Alexander Gheldof

  2. Center for Reproductive Medicine, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Sari Daelemans, Samuel Santos-Ribeiro, Michel De Vos, Herman Tournaye & Christophe Blockeel

  3. Novafertil IVF Center Yeni Meram Yolu No:75 Meram, 42090, Konya, Turkey

    Ali Sami Gürbüz

Authors
  1. Katrien Stouffs
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  2. Sari Daelemans
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  3. Samuel Santos-Ribeiro
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  4. Sara Seneca
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  5. Alexander Gheldof
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  6. Ali Sami Gürbüz
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  7. Michel De Vos
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  8. Herman Tournaye
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  9. Christophe Blockeel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katrien Stouffs.

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Approval for the study was received from the Ethics Committee of the UZ Brussel (EC2916/67).

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Stouffs, K., Daelemans, S., Santos-Ribeiro, S. et al. Rare genetic variants potentially involved in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. J Assist Reprod Genet 36, 491–497 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-018-1372-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-018-1372-5

Keywords

  • OHSS
  • FLT4
  • Genetic predisposition
  • VEGFR3