A new study indicates a link between the composition of lipids in the fluid around the egg and the development of a normal pregnancy

The study was carried out in collaboration between researchers from the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University and the IVF Unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. Don't look at the egg, but at the lipids around it

A team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, led by Dr. Aryeh Musayouf from the Institute of Drug Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, is examining metabolic processes at the beginning of fetal development, and has so far found that differences in the composition of fats ("lipids") in the environment of the egg, related to its development, may predict pregnancy.

Dr. Musayouf's laboratory team has examined in recent years metabolic changes involved in the beginning of embryonic development, mainly in the fatty substances. As part of this work, the team examined the follicular fluid, which is the fluid that surrounds the egg inside the follicle. Dr. Aryeh Musayouf explains that "metabolic processes include any change in the composition of the small molecules in the cell (metabolites). There is a huge wealth of metabolites. We are particularly interested in lipids, substances of a fatty nature. In our laboratory, we characterize thousands of lipids and use their specific composition to characterize the state of a biological unit, in this case an egg before fertilization. This characterization is used to monitor developmental processes, as well as pathological processes. Understanding the metabolic changes involved in developmental processes or other biological processes can allow the regulation of these processes in many cases."

In the project in question, conducted by the students Alaa Shahada and Reut Brock-Haimson in collaboration with Dr. Assaf Ben Meir from the in vitro fertilization unit of Hadassah Ein-Karem, the research team preserved the follicular fluid of women who were treated in the unit and tested whether it was possible to link the composition of the fluid surrounding the the egg and between the ability of the egg to develop into an embryo and undergo implantation. From the study it seems that there is an association between the lipid composition of the egg's environment, and the ability of the egg to develop into a pregnancy.
Dr. Musayouf emphasized that the research is the first step in a number of projects dealing with the early development of the fetus and that they are collecting samples from the clinic to strengthen the research findings and expand them to further insights.