Kurt, Nezahat; Ozgeris, Fatma Betul; Kocak, Omer Faruk; Yuce, Neslihan; Bayraktutan, Zafer; Parlak, Emine; Coban, Taha Abdulkadir; Bakan, Ebubekir

Objectives: Fetuin-A, a glycoprotein with several functions, is also a negative acute phase reactant. The purpose of this study was to investigate levels of serum fetuin-A in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, its association with disease severity, and whether it has superiority over C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods: The research comprised 56 individuals with COVID-19(+) and 30 healthy controls. The COVID-19(+) patient population was split into three subgroups: mild, moderate, and severe. All participants’ serum concentrations of fetu-in-A, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured using ELISA commercial test kits. In addition, CRP and other biochemical values from biochemistry laboratory data were gathered, and the CRP/fetuin-A ratio was calculated. Results: The fetuin-A concentration of the COVID-19(+) patient group was shown to be statistically lower than that of the healthy control group. TNF-α and IL-6 levels were found to be significantly different in both groups. While fetuin-A had a higher area under the curve (AUC) value than CRP (0.875 and 0.800, respectively), CRP/fetuin-A had the strongest AUC (0.933). Conclusion: Low serum fetuin-A concentrations in COVID-19 patients suggest that fetuin-A is a negative acute phase reactant for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Furthermore, fetuin-A alone and CRP/fetuin-A value are both contenders for being more remarkable markers than CRP.

Erkaya, Nurhan; Demirci, Tuba; Abuc, Ozlem Ozgul; Halici, Mesut; Kasali, Kamber

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chemical changes in the follicular fluid and histologi-cal changes in the cumulus cells of the oocyte microenvironment on the number of oocytes in infertile patients. Methods: A total of 50 female patients aged 18-35 who presented at the Atatürk University Research Hospital Infertility Clinic and for infertility treatment were included. The patients were divided into 3 groups: Patients with fewer than 5 oocytes were classified as Group 1, patients with 5-20 oocytes comprised Group 2, and Group 3 was made up of patients with >20 oocytes. During the oocyte collection process, follicular fluid was aspirated from the follicles and the cumulus cells were collected. The follicular fluid was stored at-80°C for use in biochemical analysis of malondialde-hyde (MDA), total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH). Immunohistochemical staining was performed to examine caspase-3 and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) immunoreactivity at the stereological level. Results: The MDA level and total oxidant capacity (TOC) in the follicular fluid were higher in Group 1 patients than in the other 2 groups, while the SOD was lower (p<0.05). In Group 2 patients, the MDA level and TOS were higher than those of Group 3, while the SOD level was lower (p<0.05). The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and GSH levels did not vary significantly according to the number of oocytes (p<0.05). Immunohistochemical staining showed that mTOR and caspase-3 immunoreactivity were more intense in Group 1 than in the other groups. Conclusion: The increase in mTOR expression may activate the caspase-3 pathway, which could lead to oxidative stress. The mTOR pathway may affect the oocyte count.