Successful Pregnancy in a Case of Behçet’s Disease after Treatment with Prednisolone

A 34-year-old woman (gravida 1, para 0) visited the Division of Reproductive Medicine/National Center for Child Health and Development due to infertility; she had also been suffering from incompletely treated genital ulcers and stomatitis for 10 years. This case was diagnosed as an incomplete-type Behçet’s disease (BD) at the Department of Maternal-Fetal Biology/National Center for Child Health and Development. Since no apparent abnormality was found in the general infertility test, artificial insemination with the husband’s semen (AIH) was performed for the patient with unexplained infertility, which failed. However, after treating BD with prednisolone, chronic inflammation (stomatitis and genital ulcer) and immunological abnormalities (Th2 and NK cell activity) improved, and conception was possible by AIH. Thus, prednisolone administration may have induced immune tolerance in the patient with BD, which may have contributed to the success of AIH

Trehalose Suppresses Lysosomal Anomalies in Supporting Cells of Oocytes and Maintains Female Fertility

Supporting cells of oocytes, i.e., cumulus cells, control oocyte quality, which determines fertilization success. Therefore, the transformation of mature and immature cumulus cells (MCCs and ICCs, respectively) into dysmature cumulus cells (DCCs) with dead characteristics deteriorates oocyte quality. However, the molecular basis for this transformation remains unclear. Here, we explored the link between autophagic decline and cumulus transformation using cumulus cells from patients with infertility, female mice, and human granulosa cell-derived KGN cell lines. When human cumulus cells were labeled with LysoTracker probes, fluorescence corresponding to lysosomes was enhanced in DCCs compared to that in MCCs and ICCs. Similarly, treatment with the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine elevated LysoTracker fluorescence in both mouse cumulus cells and KGN cells, subsequently suppressing ovulation in female mice. Electron microscopy analysis revealed the proliferation of abnormal lysosomes in chloroquine-treated KGN cells. Conversely, the addition of an autophagy inducer, trehalose, suppressed chloroquine-driven problematic lysosomal anomalies and ameliorated ovulation problems. Our results suggest that autophagy maintains the healthy state of the supporting cells of human oocytes by suppressing the formation of lysosomes. Thus, our results provide insights into the therapeutic effects of trehalose on female fertility