Expression pattern of olfactory receptor genes in human cumulus cells as an indicator for competent oocyte selection

Authors : Neda DAEİFARSHBAF, Reza AFLATOONİAN, Fatemehsadat AMJADİ, Sara TALEAHMAD, Mahnaz ASHRAFİ, Mehrdad BAKHTİYARİ

Pages : 371-380

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Publication Date : 2020-12-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Odorant or olfactory receptors are mainly localized in the olfactory epithelium for the perception of different odors. Interestingly, many ectopic olfactory receptors with low expression levels have recently been found in nonolfactory tissues to involve in local functions. Therefore, we investigated the probable role of the olfactory signaling pathway in the surrounding microenvironment of oocyte. This study included 22 women in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycle. The expression of olfactory target molecules in cumulus cells surrounding the growing and mature oocytes was evaluated by Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, integrated bioinformatics analyses were carried out and 6 ectopic olfactory receptors were selected for further evaluation. The initiation of olfactory transduction cascade in cumulus cells of competent oocytes was confirmed by analyzing the expression of adenylyl cyclase type 3 and olfactory market protein. Moreover, the expression pattern of the selected olfactory receptors was evaluated and OR1OH2 was selected due to a high level of expression in mature fertile oocytes. We suggested that OR1OH2 could be considered as a reliable biomarker for oocyte selection in assisted reproduction technique programs. However, further studies are required to elucidate the role of olfactory transduction cascade in embryo quality and implantation.
Keywords : Olfactory receptors, odorant receptors, G protein coupled receptors, adenylyl cyclase type 3, olfactory marker protein