Association of ADAMTS proteoglycanases downregulation with IVF-ET outcomes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin-like motifs (ADAMTS) is involved in inflammation and fertility in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study aims to assess the role of ADAMTS level in the outcomes of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in women with PCOS, using a meta-analytic approach. Methods We systematically searched Web of Science, PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane library to identify potentially eligible studies from inception until December 2021. Study assess the role of ADAMTS levels in patients with PCOS was eligible in this study. The pooled effect estimates for the association between ADAMTS level and IVF-ET outcomes were calculated using the random-effects model. Results Five studies involving a total of 181 patients, were selected for final analysis. We noted that ADAMTS-1 levels were positively correlated to oocyte maturity ( r = 0.67; P = 0.004), oocyte recovery ( r = 0.74; P = 0.006), and fertilization ( r = 0.46; P = 0.041) rates. Moreover, ADAMTS-4 levels were positively correlated to oocyte recovery ( r = 0.91; P = 0.001), and fertilization ( r = 0.85; P = 0.017) rates. Furthermore, downregulation of ADAMTS-1, ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, and ADAMTS-9 was associated with elevated follicle puncture (ADAMTS-1: weighted mean difference [WMD], 7.24, P < 0.001; ADAMTS-4: WMD, 7.20, P < 0.001; ADAMTS-5: WMD, 7.20, P < 0.001; ADAMTS-9: WMD, 6.38, P < 0.001), oocytes retrieval (ADAMTS-1: WMD, 1.61, P < 0.001; ADAMTS-4: WMD, 3.63, P = 0.004; ADAMTS-5: WMD, 3.63, P = 0.004; ADAMTS-9: WMD, 3.20, P = 0.006), and Germinal vesicle oocytes levels (ADAMTS-1: WMD, 2.89, P < 0.001; ADAMTS-4: WMD, 2.19, P < 0.001; ADAMTS-5: WMD, 2.19, P < 0.001; ADAMTS-9: WMD, 2.89, P < 0.001). Finally, the oocytes recovery rate, oocyte maturity rate, fertilization rate, cleavage rate, good-quality embryos rate, blastocyst formation rate, and clinical pregnancy rate were not affected by the downregulation of ADAMTS-1, ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, and ADAMTS-9 ( P > 0.05). Conclusions This study found that the outcomes of IVF-EF in patients with PCOS could be affected by ADAMTS-1 and ADAMTS-4; further large-scale prospective studies should be performed to verify these results.