Clinical Study Follicular Fluid Oocyte/Cumulus-Free DNA Concentrations as a Potential Biomolecular Marker of Embryo Quality and IVF Outcome M. Dimopoulou, 1 G. Anifandis, 1 C. I. Messini, 1 K. Dafopoulos, 1 S. Kouris, 2 S. Sotiriou, 1 M. Satra, 2 N. Vamvakopoulos, 2 and I. E. Messinis 1 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tessaly, 41222 Larissa, Greece 2 Department of Molecular Biology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tessaly, 41222 Larissa, Greece Correspondence should be addressed to G. Anifandis; ganif@med.uth.gr Received 12 February 2014; Accepted 2 June 2014; Published 15 June 2014 Academic Editor: Vasiliki Galani Copyright © 2014 M. Dimopoulou et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te present prospective study examined the follicular fuid oocyte/cumulus-free DNA concentrations (f o/c-free DNA) during ovarian stimulation and the possible association between f o/c-free DNA and embryological results such as embryo quality and pregnancy rate. Eighty-three women undergoing IV/ICSI-ET treatments were prospectively included in this study. f o/c-free DNA was determined by conventional quantitative real time PCR-Sybr green detection approach. Te 83 f samples were categorized in two groups: group 1 ( = 62) with cumulus oocytes complexes (CoCs) ≥2 and group 2 ( = 21) with CoCs = 1. Group 1 revealed signifcant higher embryo quality in terms of mean score of embryo transfer (MSET), but lower f o/c-free DNA concentrations compared to group 2. Te two groups showed comparable pregnancy rates (positive hCG and clinical pregnancy). Te higher the f o/c-free DNA concentration, the lower the number of produced oocytes. f o/c-free DNA did not seem to have any direct role in the IVF outcome. Further research is required to clarify whether f o/c-free DNA is a biomolecular marker of embryo quality and IVF outcome. 1. Introduction Cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) is fragments of DNA that have been found in body fuids of both healthy individuals and patients. It is released from the cell nucleus mainly during apoptotic processes [1]. Recent reports have emphasized the importance of studying the presence of cf-DNA and the possible association with various diseases. For that reason it has been reported that increased cf-DNA concentrations have been measured in cancer [2–4] and preeclampsia [5]. Ele- vated fetal cf-DNA is associated with preeclampsia in preg- nancy, since fetal cf-DNA has also been detected in serum of pregnant women [6]. So far, research has focused on which factors are strongly related to IVF success or failure. Te reports concerning one putative predictive factor of IVF outcome, the serum cf-DNA, are scarce. Serum cf-DNA has been proposed as a marker of semen quality, since it has been associated with important sperm parameters linked to normal sperm function [7]. It has been reported that there is no relationship between serum cf-DNA concentrations and IVF outcome in patients under- going IVF-ET treatments [8], while a more recent report indicated that increased serum cell-free DNA is associated with low pregnancy rate in women undergoing IVF-ET pro- grams [9]. Methods used for the analysis of serum cf-DNA are real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [3, 10] and quan- titative PCR [2], while relative recently a new simple and highly sensitive method known as the SYBR gold fuorescent- stained direct assay has been developed [11]. Te present study examined for the frst time oocytes/ cumulus-free DNA (o/c-free DNA) in the follicular fuid (f), the ambient environment of the oocytes, in women undergo- ing IVF/ICSI-ET treatments with the aim to investigate the role of this factor as a potential biomolecular marker afecting embryo quality and subsequent IVF outcome. Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2014, Article ID 289306, 5 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/289306