Metabolomic profiling of ovary in mice treated with FSH using ultra performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

The growth and development of follicles are a very complex physiological process that is regulated by endocrine, autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. The effect of small molecules in follicular microenvironment on follicular growth and development has not been clearly analyzed. In the present study, the metabolic changes in ovaries of FSH-stimulated mice were investigated. Metabolomic profiling of ovary stimulated by FSH were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and characterized by principal components analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. Multivariate statistical analysis identified 21 differentially metabolites in positive ion mode and 12 in negative ion mode in the FSH-treated mice compared with the control mice. These results indicated that various types of phosphatidylcholine were changed. Furthermore, the levels of L-Glutamyl 5-phosphate, N-Acetyl-L-aspartic acid, 4-fumarylacetoacetic acid, adenylylselenate and 5′-Methylthioadenosine in the ovaries of the FSH-stimulated mice were decreased. However, the levels of 19-hydroxytestosterone and 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolic acid were significantly increased in the positive ion mode and negative ion mode, respectively. Thirty-three differential metabolites including fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism in the ovaries of mice were affected by FSH injection. The findings of our study provide a new insight into understanding the follicular development.