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ZnT 9 Involvement in Estradiol-Modulated Zinc Homeostasis of the Human Follicular Microenvironment

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Abstract

Female subfertility has been a growing concern for reproductive health. Assisted reproductive technologies make pregnancy possible, but the outcome rate is still suboptimal. Zinc is an essential factor for fertility and development. Zinc levels in follicular fluids were measured by electrochemical method, and we found that zinc in the follicular fluids was related to high-quality embryo rate (R = 0.39, p = 0.01). Basal estradiol levels and estradiol levels on the day of HCG injection were negatively correlated with zinc concentrations in the follicular fluid (R =  − 0.53, p < 0.001; R =  − 0.32, p < 0.05), and estradiol promoted ZnT 9 protein expression in cumulus granulosa cells in vitro and in vivo. When the zinc level was at 3.63–3.85 μg/mL, follicular fluid samples had the highest SOD activity. Therefore, zinc played an important role in improving oocyte development by increasing antioxidant capacity. Our results suggested that estradiol affected zinc homeostasis in follicles by controlling the expression of ZnT 9, which in turn influenced the potential of oocytes to develop into good-quality embryos. This study to provide tangible improvements to patient outcomes will make it a focus of both scientific and translational efforts in the future.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Hebei Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Hebei Institute of Reproductive Health Science and Technology (Shijiazhuang, China), and all the patients who participated in the study.

Funding

This work was supported by Hebei Medical Science Research Project (20190144), Government clinical medical talent training program (ZF2023175, ZF2023176).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hebei Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Hebei Reproductive Health Hospital, Hebei Institute of Reproductive Health Science and Technology, Xinhua District, No. 480 Heping Road, Shijiazhuang, 050071, China

    Hui Lu, Xueying Wang, Xiujia Zhang, Wenbo Yu, Xiaoli Guo, Ruhua Wang, Congcong Xie, Jing Ma & Shusong Wang

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  1. Hui Lu
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  2. Xueying Wang
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  3. Xiujia Zhang
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  4. Wenbo Yu
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  6. Ruhua Wang
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  7. Congcong Xie
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  8. Jing Ma
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  9. Shusong Wang
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Contributions

Shusong Wang contributed to the study design. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Hui Lu and Xueying Wang. Hui Lu and Xueying Wang participated in the experiments, prepared the figures, and conducted data analysis. Material preparation was performed by Xiujia Zhang, Wenbo Yu, and Xiaoli Guo. Clinical data collection was performed by Ruhua Wang, Congcong Xie, and Jing Ma. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shusong Wang.

Ethics declarations

Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of Hebei Institute of Reproductive Health Science and Technology. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Hui Lu and Xueying Wang contributed equally to this study.

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Lu, H., Wang, X., Zhang, X. et al. ZnT 9 Involvement in Estradiol-Modulated Zinc Homeostasis of the Human Follicular Microenvironment. Biol Trace Elem Res 202, 1901–1909 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03804-y

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