Female Fertility, Environmental Agents and Stress Oxidant

Synthetic products used in industrial, pharmaceutical, agro-alimentary or agricultural fields are found in our environment. Thus, humans could be simultaneously exposed to several of these pollutants. Furthermore, these environmental agents exert or could exert adverse actions on fertility, by altering gamete and embryo quality through endocrine disruptor effects or through increase in oxidative stress in gonads (cellular pathway known to be involved in several human reproductive pathologies).

In this context, the objectives of the present project are to obtain descriptive and analytical data on woman and oocyte exposure to several environmental agents (bisphenols, ethynylestradiol and glyphosate). The relation between these pollutant measures in follicular fluid and urine (from women receiving follow-up of in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocol in the University hospital of Tours, France) and the oocyte quality, the IVF and pregnancy successes will be studied. Several oxidative stress biomarkers in blood and follicular fluid will be also measured for these women, who will complete a questionnaire on their lifestyles. Finally, thanks to in vitro approaches, the effects and the mechanisms of action (including oxidative stress) of these pollutants (alone or in cocktails) will be studied on granulosa cells from these patients.