Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) regulates BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene expression after ovarian cortex transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether recombinant anti-Müllerian hormone (rAMH) could exert an inhibitory function on BRCA1/2 expression in human ovarian cortex.

METHODS: Pilot study on ovariectomized nude mice xenotransplanted with human vitrified/warmed ovarian cortex and treated with rAMH via infusion pump. Twelve nude mice were ovariectomized and Alzet pumps delivering 1.23 mcg rAMH/day to reach a serum concentration of 17.5 ng/mL, or placebo (controls), were inserted intraabdominally. Previously vitrified/warmed 2x2 mm ovarian cortex fragments were transplanted on day 7 and then harvested on day 14 after pump placement. PCR analyses determined mRNA levels for BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the human ovarian cortex.

RESULTS: In mice treated with rAMH, BRCA1 expression was significantly lower (0.196 fg/µg RNA, IQR 0.158, 0.236) than in controls (0.544 fg/µg RNA, IQR 0.458, 0.554; p  = .030), while BRCA2 expression remained similar in rAMH mice (5.355 fg/µg RNA, IQR 4.479, 6.230) and in controls (4.011 fg/µg RNA, IQR 3.650, 4.182; p  = .327).

CONCLUSION: Administration of rAMH in the peri-transplant period caused downregulation of BRCA1, but not of BRCA2 expression, in human ovarian cortex. These results help our understanding of DNA repair mechanism in the ovarian cortex and identify AMH's possible protective effect on ovarian reserve in BRCA1 mutation carriers.